TheBestDamnChristendomBlogPeriod

My 100th blogiversary!!!

2011-05-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

What day is today?
It's my blog's birthday!
What a day for a birthday!
Let's all have some cake.
And you smell like one, too! Hah!

No, I'm not talking about the date. I mean this is my 100th blog post! Bizarre... I sure was angsty back then.
And now, in the interest of getting back to my blog roots, let's have some emotional self-reflection!!!

An odd thing has occurred over the weekend, but in order to explain it, I have to make an admission to the lot of you: My prayer life hasn't exactly been stellar lately. Ok, calm down, it's not like I'm losing my faith, or don't believe in the power of prayer(if anything, my lack of praying has made me MORE aware of just how powerful it is). It's just that I, quite suddenly, have a wife and a full-time job, two things that I've never had before. I know, two things in one year isn't that big a deal, but it's weird suddenly having responsibility, commitment, and a self-inflicted bedtime. Not things I've exactly ever associated myself with before. Anyway, as a result, I've been more forgetful and/or lazy about my daily prayers, because I'm trying to remember all the things I need for the day. I'm not giving excuses, BTW - just reasons.
Anyway, on Friday, Leah and I were emailing back and forth, and she said something that struck me. She said, if Saturday really HAD been the end of the world, "I don’t feel like I’d be worthy of heaven. I don’t like that feeling. I really need to start living my life as if each day were the end."
It occurred to me that I felt the same way. I fell into the dreaded comfort zone of thinking "Eh, this is enough Catholicism". I know we've all felt that from time to time. So, Leah and I resolved to improve out prayer life together.

Great! But not the end of the story.

Friday rolls around, and we're on the plane. We're about an hour into our flight, Leah's fast asleep, and I'm trying to decide what to do: listen to music, play Nintendo DS, read a book, or say the Rosary. I'll be honest - I was leaning away from Rosary. Why? Not really sure. I think I was trying to convince myself I would fall asleep if I tried(weak, Joe. Really weak). Anyway, while pondering my options, I happened to glance over at the guy across the isle. He was dressed in a button-up shirt, slacks, brown leather shoes, and had his face buried in his hands. He seemed to be acting oddly - it was almost like he was trying to sleep without trying to get comfortable. Then I started to recognize the signs - the subtly counting on his fingers, the clasped hands, the covered eyes... This man was saying a Rosary. I actually reached into the bag for my Rosary to give to him, so he didn't have to count on his fingers, when it occured to me that I needed to be holding the Rosary more than he did. After all - he was doing quite well, and I was the one avoided praying. Not a nice realization. So, I took the hint, and said a Rosary of my own - for him.
Incidentally, I'd like to thank you, Flight 1330, seat 18F. Public prayer is a powerful thing - don't try to hide it so much. You never know who's watching, and who needs to see. I'll continue to try to pray for you half as hard as you were praying for whatever your intentions were. And next time, I'll have a spare Rosary for you.

Now, a neat story, but not really in spooky territory. Fast forward to our return flight - we got to the airport, and I realized that I no longer had my phone on me. Turns out, I left it on the rental car, which was quickly rented out to a foreign man with no contact number and the car until June 16th.

Oi.

So, we're sitting in our gate, and I'm searching through my duffel bag yet again for my precious instrument of distraction. I looked in a hidden side pocket that I had forgotten about and found, not my phone, but my Grandmother's Rosary, blessed by two Popes, then I had lost several months prior, and had all but given up on finding.

I literally just stared at it for a moment. I continued looking in another pocket, and found a single-decade set of Rosary beads. At that point, I came to realize two things:

One: God is pounding on my head, shouting: "SAY. THE. ROSARY. MORE!!!"

Two: I need to be much, MUCH better about unpacking.

Two things that I absolutely WILL from now on.

I have to leave it at that... My *cough* work day is up. Keep it real.

-Hich

Only 4 months later

2011-04-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

So suck an egg.

Y'know, when I was writing my last post, if I had known it wouldn't be until 4 months later, I probably would have thought something to the effect of "Well, at least it'll be warmer."

Heh, yeah, no.

It's snowing pretty hard right now. I've got a fire blazing in the fireplace, Leah and I are sitting in the living room, my feet are cold, and I'm too lazy to get a blanket. It's just one of those afternoons, y'know? I just need a couple of hours to pass so we can get started on dinner, drink a cocktail, and play poker(which is totally our plan, because our marriage rocks).

So, what's the latest? Oh, brilliant tech guy broke his computer.

Yeeeaaaahhh... The power plug's been bent for awhile, and the plug inside the lappy finally started cracking away from the motherboard. I theorize that all I have to do is resolder it, which is fine, if slightly terrifying. Never tried THAT aspect of PC repair, but hey: I always say that I would never do something to a client's computer that I wouldn't be willing to do to my own computer. Good time for a little experimentation, right?!

Speaking of computers, does anyone need one? I just inherited two from Leah's work friend. One's a laptop(replaced the motherboard, power board, and CPU, and may need to replace the video card now as well) that, despite the list I just gave, actually works, and the other's a desktop that I have NO idea why I took it off her hands other than the fact that I couldn't bear the thought of it being thrown away if she couldn't find a good home for it. Yes, that's correct, I'm worse than the people who adopt animals from the pound just so they don't get euthanized. Anyway, it's the Frankencomputer - not because it bears an odd resemblance to Al Franken(though it does), but because it's the compiled parts of many dead computers. Oddly enough, it also works. I can't work on ANY of the three computers I just mentioned(work on the Frankencomputer in the sense of removing it from my trunk and doing something with it) because I currently have a client's computer.

That thing's gonna drive me up the wall. Give me a computer with a tangible issue, not "it boots up slowly". And I mean PRE-LOGIN slow boot, not "Oh, I like to have Yahoo messenger on autologin so I can see if my mother-in-law is online before signing onto facebook" slow boot. Also, 15 minutes or more. No errors, no viruses... Just stupid Vista. *sigh* Oh well, I enables boot logging, so hopefully that'll tell me something.

The other reason I've been bad about working on computers is that I've decided I only have the capacity to work either my body or my brain in one day - not both. I can't go from working out to working on computers. It's like trying to get a jock and a nerd to hang out - unless one needs a date to the prom and the other needs to pass the math test in order to be eligible for the big game on Friday, there's just no good reason for those two to hang out. And fortunately or unfortunately, Leah and I have been going to the gym every day, Monday through Friday(and Saturday, if you're my irrepressible wife). When I finish with work and the gym, I am D-O-N-E DONE for the day. So I've been pretty bad about my nerd-side. But hey - I've lost ten pounds since Christmas, so at least it's working! Hopefully, they weren't all in brain cells.

So, my siblings (*coughMIKEcough*) ask me at every opportunity when I'm moving back to VA. It's kinda difficult to address because number A) we just don't know, and... Well, that's sorta it. There's a bunch of factors and what-all. Let me just assure you guys of this - it will happen, and Leah and I both want it to happen, but we both also have lots keeping us here for the time being. Don't think I don't miss my family and the equal amounts of time dedicated to winter AND summer, but... Well, let me refer to Calvin and Hobbes to finish my thought, as I so often do:

I really don't know where to begin.

2011-01-05T18:42:00.001-08:00

Alright... I'll try to get back to this. I mean, A) my life is more interesting now than it ever was(unless you were a college buddy of mine, in which case, you now drink in REMEMBRANCE of me instead of WITH me), and B) there are actually people to keep informed as to my life now. It's weird - I found it much easier to blog when I saw all my readers every day. And now that I live halfway across the country, I'm all like "uhhh..."

Seriously. I'm all like that.

Ok, first, I need to update myself real quick. When was the last post?

Job hunting, May 24th... Ok, so I was engaged, just finished at Kaplan... Ok, I finished the post by saying I'd let you guys know if I got a job, so that's where we'll start.

Yes. I got a job. I now work in the IT department of a famous nationwide department store, at the corporate location. Technically, I'm still just a "contract employee" - meaning I work side-by-side with the regular employees, but my paychecks come from my contracting company, and my ID card is a different color. It also means that I get paid less and my opinion is meaningless. But hell, it's WORK!

A full time job to help support my famiOH CRAP! Right, you guys don't know(haha) - I got married!
Take THAT, loser kid who never had a date to prom! Or... a prom to go to, regardless...

So yes, Leah and I tied the knot on October 9th, 2010, much to the delight of all involved. Nobody objected, Leah said "yes", all that good stuff. The ONLY bad thing is that, if my life is truly a TV show(as we all know it is), it's definitely jumped the shark. You guys know what I'm talking about:

"Oh, Chandler and Monica got married? Huh... their relationship is a lot less hilarious now." Suddenly wacky relationship disasters go from "Haha, how's he gonna get out of THIS one?!" to "That's sad... they're having marital troubles."
Hell, it's already started. I mean, look how rarely I update now! I can place blame squarely on my marriage. It's not a bad thing, it's just kinda ironic. Now that I have something to write about, I no longer have time to write it!

The other thing is... all the new stuff isn't really interesting to read about, but it's still new experiences for me. Everything from paying bills, to having my own place, to having a real job, it sounds dreadfully boring, but not to someone who's been waiting to be at this point in his life for a long time. I was never a "I don't wanna grow up!" sorta kid... I was a "Just wait 'till I'm making six figures, and you're serving time for petty theft! THEN we'll see who has the power! AH-HA HA HA HAA!!!!" kinda kid.

To answer your question - no, I'm not making six figures. Dream. On.

By the way, if you want to know how exciting my job is - I'm blogging at work. :)

I think I've made this analogy before, but blogging is a lot like confession. It's difficult to do TOO often because you don't have all that much to say, and if you wait too LONG, it becomes REALLY difficult because it's kind of embarrassing. That's where I'm at now. I could give more details about my feelings of married life, or my job, or my apartment... But I'm not gonna do that stuff. So, deal.

Oh, hey, Leah and I are flying back to Virginia this weekend! Really looking forward to seeing the fam. I still can't get over the fact that I pissed and moaned SO MUCH every time one of my siblings moved out, and demanded that they stay nearby, and then I promptly moved several states away. But hey - that's just the way it is.

... Some things will never change...

Sorry, that song's been going through my head all damn day.

Ok, that's all I got for now. Next post should be better - there'll be less to cover.

Deuces,
Hich

P.S. If my next post is 6 months later, I quit.

Job hunting

2010-05-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

Wait... Did it just revert back to 2009? Seriously, I feel like I've been in this boat before.

Fact is, though, that I haven't. Never in my life have I ever been anywhere NEAR the place in my life that I'm in now. Let us compare my life now to my life one and two years in the past.

May, 2008 - Starting a job working with my bro, gettin' exercise, good pay. Looking for a car! Thinking about post-graduate life. When will I move to WI? What am I going to do for a career? Many questions, but life is good.

May, 2009 - Moved to WI, living at Leah's parents' house for now, until I find better. Looking for a job! To hell with Monster.com - "entry level" my ass... Seriously, how do people START careers around here?! Car falling apart... Might be an issue. Still many questions, but finally finished with the long-distance relationship and live in the same state as my girlfriend! Miss my family, but life is good.

May, 2010 - Graduated from Kaplan with a 3.96 GPA in they're fancy computer support tech program. Got certified, too - only one in my class! Was assured that I'd quickly land a great job in the $40-$50k range. Haven't been able to land one in the $12/hour range. Money-wise, I was better off changing lightbulbs. Planning a wedding in October - no idea how I'll pay for it 1) without the job I was so hoping I'd have by now, and B) with the fancy new debts I've acquired. Still living at Leah's parents' house - y'know, until I find better. Finally ditched the old fall-aparty car and bought a new one. I dance on a street corner wearing a wig of dreadlocks for a living, but life is good.

Looking back, I suppose I have much to be thankful for. I've never hated my life, nor do I now. At least I know now what both my personal AND professional lives will be in the future. I've proposed to Leah, and she said yes, and - in a way - I proposed to the computer support field. It said yes when I got certified. Now, I've got both a wedding and HOPEFULLY a career coming up. Will I make a good husband? Will I make a good computer-fixer-guy? Won't know until we get there, but I think they'll both work out well.

I'm getting deep again so, for your amusement, I've decided to post a summary of my first real computer fix. It was a computer that belonged to my friend Alicia's sister. Here it is, as typed in real-time(that is, I started typing it when I started troubleshooting it):

Problem: Blue Screen of Death.

Booted computer successfully into "safe mode", and checked Event Viewer and Device Manager. Hardware all seems to be connected correctly. Event Viewer lists many system errors regarding "wuauserv(Windows Update)" service registry issues. Error states "Access is denied." Google research suggests this is due to an invalid file reference. Ran Registry Cleaner. Cleaner found 674 problems - 404 COM/ActiveX entries, 9 Uninstall Entries, 7 Shared DLLs, 5 Application Paths, 11 Help Files Information, 163 Windows Startup Items, 25 Files extensions, 32 History List, and 18 Software settings.

Main error suspected to be associated with "File Extension" issues and "Windows Startup" issues. Backed up registry and fixed all issues.

Restarted computer into standard mode.

That's when all hell broke loose.

Windows is continuously displaying a Keyboard History Utility error. In addition, several viruses became apparent. Eventually, computer displayed the Blue Screen of Death again. Shut down the computer, and booted into Safe Mode again.
Installed Avast antivirus and Spybot: Search and destroy. Rebooted into "Safe Mode with Networking" in order to update the programs. Discovered problems with NIC - cannot connect to wired or wireless networks.

Attempted to run Avast. Said application configuration was incorrect. Attempted to run Spybot, and nothing happened. When I attempted to use Task Manager to troubleshoot, it said "Task Manager has been disabled by administrator."

*Sigh*

Re-logged in as administrator. Ran task manager, and discovered the CPU was at %100 usage, due to struggling to start "services". Ran MSCONFIG and disabled several unnecessary services and startup programs, and rebooted. Services still holding %95-%100 commit CPU charge. Went through the Registry startup keys, one-by-one, and discovered some of them to be pretty nasty malware. Disabled them manually through Registry Cleaner. Came across the "Keyboard History Utility" registry entry, and disabled it(research reveals that Spybot, when run correctly, should eliminate it).

Rebooted into safe mode once again, and logged on as Administrator. CPU usage sitting comfortably at %0. BOO-YAH!!!

Wireless Adapter started working. I think one of the services - DLG.exe - was interfering with the internet connection.

OH MY GOSH, THIS GUY NEXT TO ME WON'T SHUT UP!!! KINDA hard to concentrate when every three seconds, some random guy starts laughing at NOTHING and demanding I look at his computer screen! AHH!!!

At next boot, CPU was back at %100. Can't run spybot for unknown reasons, can't run Avast because the installation is faulty, and can't run installation for MalwareBytes. Now what?

Attempted to uninstall Avast. Couldn't run uninstall utility due to resource issues. MUST get CPU usage down before anything else can happen. Stopped temporarily to take computer home in order to access the internet.

. . .

Wow. What a rollercoaster. Turned on computer at home, and still couldn’t connect to the internet through the wireless. It said it was both connected and NOT connected at the same time. On a whim I checked the wireless adapter driver. “BCMWL5.sys”, is its name. Version 3.1. I thought I’d google that file, just to see if there were any complaints about it. The response was OVERWHELMING! Turns out that file is a big-time security vulnerability, and Dell(the owner of the driver) decided not to tell anyone just how bad it was. This was back in 2005. Further, they never REALLY fixed the problem. Fortunately, the other nerds out there in cyberspace found another driver that was compatible, though it wasn’t made for this particular wireless adapter. So, I download that driver on my computer, put it on a flash drive, and manually install it on Amanda’s computer. I manually delete the old driver.

The immediate change was incredible. Night and day. Instantly, I have internet connectivity and CPU usage is sitting happily around %10. Installed an older version of Avast(4.8), and updated it. As it was running its startup scan of the computer, it deleted about 15 crucial viruses, most of which I recognized from trying to stop them with Registry cleaner. It then told me there were boot-sector viruses present, and it needed to reboot and run a boot-time scan to eliminate them. Rebooted into regular mode, and ran the scan. Within moments, roughly 10 more viruses were deleted.

50… 60… 70… Just lost count of the infected files located in the temp folder. Lots.

Aaaaaand, just when I thought it was over…

Can’t get past the “Welcome” screen. Even in safe mode. Starts to log in, then “logs off”, and reverts to welcome screen. Research reveals the problem to be related to “wauservice” – the Windows Update program. There is a fix, but it involves the use of a Windows XP CD, which I do not currently have. Downloaded a boot disk, and will buy blank CDs tomorrow.

…

Purchased blank CDs, and realized I really don’t know how to create a boot disk. After some research, discovered a step-by-step process. After 7 useless CDs created, successfully created boot disk. Went into recovery console on boot CD, and manually copied the userinit.inf file from the CD to the Windows folder on the computer. Rebooted, and started Windows successfully. Did a small victory celebration. Upon startup, ran several virus scans and eliminated any failed startup programs(several viruses designed to boot on startup were still in the startup sequence, though they were no longer present).

Background still showed virus warning. Enabled “change background” capability via the Administrator account, and downloaded an Active Desktop fix. Success.

Returned computer to client, and ate victory cake. It tastes sweet.

Well, there ya go. That's what I intend on doing for a living. That is, if someone ever decides to give me a damn chance. I'll let you guys know if that ever happens.

Peace!
Hich

Confusing Analogies

2010-01-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

With my first A+ certification test quickly approaching and absolutely no interest in the current class, I've decided to share with you my way of memorizing what some of these things are.

Proxy Server - Patron Saint. A proxy server sits between your computer and the internet, and forwards your requests for you, doing some of the leg work and organizing the communication. Similarly, a Patron Saint is an expert in the topic you're praying for, and acts as an intermediary between you and God, forwarding your requests and filtering out the nonsense. Yes, in this analogy, God is the internet. Try to keep up.

UPS - Uninteruptable Power Supply. This is essentially a battery backup for your computer so you can save your progress if the power goes out. How do you remember this? Simple: What can Brownout do for you?

POST - Power-On Self-Test. This is the first thing the computer does when it turns on - tests to make sure all the hardware is properly connected. That's the first "beep" you hear when you turn the computer on. So, how could something called "POST" be the FIRST thing the happened? Because computer techs do everything ass-backwards.

HAL.DLL - System file driver that provides the interface between the system hardware and the software. This probably won't actually be on the test, but it makes me laugh anyway.
"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."
Fear your computer.

Ok, moving on.

I forgot to check my last post to see where I was when we left off, so I'll just kinda go for it. I hate my job. I've been yelled at for dancing and singing while I work because they think it makes me lose focus and slows me down. In reality? Dancing around and acting crazy at work makes me a better employee. If I were to really focus on what I do for a living, I'd start bringing an AK-47 to work and just light the place up. Honestly, I'd just get stressed out, and I REALLY lose focus when I realize how much I hate what I'm doing.

If I can just pause for a moment, I think my teacher just passed out weed-brownies. That... was weird.
Huh.

Uhh... Wow, I just completely lost focus(no, I didn't eat one). Oh, right, certification test. I'm not positive on how it'll go, but I decided to sign up for my test. I'm taknig it tomorrow, for better or worse. If I pass, swell. If I don't pass, at least I'll know what I'm dealing with.

I'm being hit up for homework... Though I'm pretty sure he'd give me full marks whether I turn it in or not, I should at least pretend to do something with the 15k I just blew on this place.
Aaaand he's teaching us L33T. I really have to go.

Ciao.
-Hich

This one hurts.

2010-01-07T21:59:00.001-08:00

And when he reaches for a cold one, he prefers Red Dog.

Goin' home tomorrow! WOOO!!!

See you at the aftermath. Peace!

...But, not LITERALLY...

-Hich

A day off.

2010-01-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

So, Leah's going to kill me when she realizes that, instead of studying for A+/cleaning my room/doing useful things, I finally decided to update my blog. But then, SHE'S wasting time READING my blog instead of something useful SHE could be doing! So, there!

Hi, sweetie.

Moving along... Uhh... I keep resolving to post more regularly, but then it just builds up so much that I end up dreading having to do it. Weirdly, it's kinda like confession in that regard... A lot easier to do if it's done regularly. I'll give you a quick rundown.

Halloween!

Leah and I got engaged!

I bought a new car!

Holy crap, that looks painful!!!

I'll save you the tedious details of all of these things (Yes, she said "yes." Well, actually, TECHNICALLY, she didn't say "yes"... details at your request). Oh, also, remember my laptop fixing post from a few months back? Yeah, I ordered the piece I needed and fixed it. So, that's cool. The 2009 regular season is officially over, and with it, the Miami Dolphins' season. It wasn't a terrible year, but I did have particularly high hopes.

But hey, keep the faith!

Oh, I now link Leah's dad's blog here, so be sure to check it out. Hey, they say keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, right? Well I say: "Link your future father-in-law's blog on your blog". Catchy, right?

Moving along... I hope to deliver my last pizza ever soon. This month, if possible. I can finally study for my certification, and if I get it, my teacher from last class said he has a potential job opportunity lined up, which would be pretty epic since, y'know, I have a wedding to pay for later this year. First thing's first, though. Gotta get certified.

So, this "wedding" thing... THAT'S pretty weird. Exciting, don't get me wrong! But, weird. I still don't think of myself as old enough for such a thing.
"But Joe, you moved out of your parents' house!"
Yeah, into my girlfriend/fiancee's parents' house...
"But you bought a new car!"
Yeah, but I have yet to make a payment on it...
"But you're working on your career!"
Yeah, but I DO still deliver pizzas, as it is...
"Stop whining!"
Nice argument.

Oh, so, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Woo!! 2010!! Woo! Yeah!! ...Alright! ...Yay...

*cough*

Oh yeah, I also had a birthday. And IN that birthday, Leah's Parents gave me tickets to GO HOME!!! (In a much nicer way than that sounded). But yeah, Leah and I are flying (together on a plane, at last!) back to VA on the 8th and coming back on the 10th. I'm pretty wicked-excited about it... Can't believe I haven't seen my family in... 8 months? Man... All the nieces and nephews are gonna be all different. I can't wait!!!

Just watch, I'll get home and Mike'll be half-bald, D will have a mullet and a beer gut, A-Jay and Marjorie will be splitting shifts at "Hooters"...

Stop me if I'm close, guys.

Ok, my mind is blanking. I'll try to keep you guys updated on the goings on, but then, I've made that promise before, so don't hold your breath.

PEACE!
-Hich

Real quick...

2009-11-13T13:00:00.001-08:00

More later.
-Hich

Troubleshooting a laptop

2009-11-03T15:22:00.000-08:00

Time for one of those timeless "throwaway" posts that doesn't really involve the plot. Someone can come read this post even if they haven't seen my other posts this year.

Yes, my life is a TV show. Shut up.

For a long while now, I've been having trouble with my laptop. It's a Gateway, model MX7515. First, I started noticing cracking around the hinges(mind you, this is just the plastic casing I'm referring to). Eventually, entire chunks of casing fell off and I could see the actual metal hinges underneath. After that, my screen hinge became very loose and difficult to adjust. Sometimes, the screen itself would flicker when I attempted to adjust it. Also, if I opened it too wide, I noticed that it would start to pull up on the plastic around the keyboard. Finally, it stopped closing properly(wouldn't snap shut). Fortunately, this more or less coincided with my receiving my computer tech kit from Kaplan. Needless to say, the day I got it I was quite eager to try it out, so I decided to experiment on my very own computer(because what computer better to destroy than my very own?). So, I set to work, and decided to photo-document the procedure for y'alls entertainment and education(print at home and SAVE!).

Tools and problem area:

As you can see, by this time it was to the point where one side of my LCD was completely detached from the rest of the laptop, and I still didn't know why.

(From left to right: cool tech thing, cool tech thing, some big tool whose purpose eludes me, the one tool I use which is a screwdriver, tweezers(in case you get a splinter), yellow thing that works kinda like a claw machine, cool tech thing)

It honestly took me to this point to ask: Uhh... What are those screws supposed to be attached to?

Ok, so, let's get to the process itself, shall we?

Step 1. Remove the casing. It's pretty easy to tell one piece from another - it's less easy determining how each piece is attached, and where. Here, I start with the basics: remove the little rubber things that cover the screws.*

Much better. Step 2, obviously, is remove the screws themselves. Be sure to store them somewhere you'll be able to find them again. Fortunately for my, one of my Cool Tech Things was a tiny little multi-case for just such an occasion.

Step 3. Gently pry the unscrewed piece away from the rest of the computer(in this case, it was mostly snap-in, with some mild glue.)

Take special care around any areas that offer resistance. The hinges gave me some difficulty.

With the face plate removed from the rest of the screen, we can take a look at what's wrong with the hinge.

A shiny penny to anyone who can tell me what's wrong with this picture.

The fully-intact hinge on the opposite side. Notice that the metal frame piece is actually attached by the screws to the rotating beam, not snapped off just before it. ...Just doesn't seem right, ya know?

So, there. Problem... ok, not quite solved, but at least now I know what the deal is. I was even able to look up a service manual for this model, and identify the exact piece that broke. I also discovered, with a little research, that I'm by far NOT the first person this has happened to. Seems to be a rather common issue. The real question is, is it worth fixing? I haven't had a lot of luck finding individual frame pieces for particular models, and I'm not sure they have a junkyard for laptops(I've been told I could PROBABLY just call Gateway, and have them mail me one, but I just don't like using the phone. Ever.)
Needless to say, my problem remains unfixed, but I've kept the face plate off my screen because I keep telling myself I WILL do something about it. Also, it looks kinda cool, in a "bare-bones" sorta way.

Oh, well. Anyway, in case you guys ever wondered how to break into your computer case, voila!

Ciao,
-Hich

*Ok, I started by just trying to pry the damn thing off. I didn't recognize the little rubber things as screw covers - I thought they were just bumpers for when the lid is closed. I thought that right until I pried too hard and heard a snap. Then I was all like "Oohhh." So, yeah - know where things are attached before yanking on them. This tip is useful in ALL aspects of life.

The real world.

2009-08-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

Geez... where to begin? Ok, first thing's first, I've got to tell you guys about trying to get into this college.

It all started when I saw a tiny ad in the local paper. "Become a computer certified technician", it said. "Ok!", I replied. So I visited the campus, started the process, and even took the tour. At the end, the admissions rep sat me down, went over some general info about the school, and decided to let me go ahead and take the entrance exam. Although, maybe "entrance exam" is too strong a phrase... it was more of a basic skills test to make sure I'm not worthless. It was the SLE(Scholastic Level Exam), for those of you who have heard of it. It's the same test given to football players at the NFL combine. It's basically set up like one of those online IQ tests, if anyone's ever taken one, but it was timed. 50 questions, 12 minutes. So, about 15 seconds per question. It's not expected that you get through all of them. In fact, for Kaplan at least, you only need to get 14 to pass. I got 36. Honestly, I was a little disappointed in that result, but apparently, it's pretty good. I say that because, when I came in the next week, I had a little encounter with another Kaplan employee who stopped, looked at me a moment, and said "...Were you here last week?
"Yes..." I respond.
"Are you the 36er?!"
I looked in alarm at the admissions rep, who laughed and said "Yeah, there was a little buzz around the office about your high score. It's one of the highest I've ever seen."

Heh. Wacky.

So, moving on. I finally met with financial aid, who asked me a long series of questions about my education, upbringing, etc. When none of my responses included the words "food stamps" or "emancipated"(seriously), he hung his head and said I didn't qualify for any grants.
I rolled my eyes. So much for the posters all over the place that show Obama talking about how everyone should go back to school for career-orientated education and how the government would help.
Ok, so a student loan is the route for me. We get the ball rolling on that, and once I gave him all my and my parents' tax info, he hung his head again and told me I had to apply for the loan as a dependent student. That wouldn't be an issue if my parents and I didn't need my parents to co-sign a bunch of forms with me. That, in turn, wouldn't be an issue if my parents weren't halfway across the country, and LITERALLY had to put pen to the same paper I put pen to.

Several complicated mailings later...

At my next meeting with Kaplan, I was told to bring in some forms:
*Driver's license
*Birth Certificate
*Some other things I forgot
*Diploma from my high school graduation

Roger. When I first read that list, I shrugged mildly and thought "Meh, I'm sure college degree will be fine."

Boy, was I wrong.

I called the admissions rep to confirm that a COLLEGE DEGREE would be sufficient. She said she wasn't sure, but to go ahead and bring it in anyway, and we'd see what happened. I brought it all in, she looked at it, and blinked.
"Yeah," I said, "it's in Latin. Is that OK?"
"Um... I'm not sure. Can you bring in the translation? Either that or I can just send it to the head office, but they might have to charge you to translate it there."

*headsmack*

No, it's fine, I'll just get the translation. So, I went home, fished it out, and e-mailed it to her. Great!
Not great. She heard back from the head office that it wasn't good enough - they needed proof of HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION. Which apparently isn't implied in PROOF OF COLLEGE GRADUATION!!! I told her I was homeschooled and don't have a diploma or anything like that. She asked for a homeschool certificate. I said I don't have one. What about college transcripts? She told me that should work, since most college transcripts have a date of high school graduation on them, and that would be proof enough.

You read that correctly. They want to look at my college transcripts to prove I went to high school.

So, I called the registrar at Christendom(most of you know him as Walter). I told him the situation, he and I shared a good laugh about it, and I asked if the date of high school graduation is stamped on Christendom's transcripts. He told me no. I asked if he had whatever forms we sent him from as my high school grades. He searched for a moment, and actually FOUND THEM! Of course, it was a little one-page, mostly-unofficial form which I vaguely remember filling out with my mom as we made up some grades that I theoretically had. But hey, it was something, so he faxed it over to Kaplan. I called the admission rep, and she gave me a hopeful "maybe" as to whether that would be good enough. That later changed to a dejected "no."
Oh, before I forget, she also suggested I simply take a GED, as that would be acceptable in place of a high school diploma. I'll be DAMNED if I'm going to shell out $50 to take a GED after 4 years of college. Ok, moving on.

Now, as you all know, I was homeschooled. What you may NOT know is that I was homeschooled in such a way that I took no government-issued tests, so I didn't really get a Homeschooling certificate of graduation. How did I manage this, you ask? It turns out, Virginia is the only state in the union that allows for Religious Exemption(source). What this means is(as you can find from the provided link), if my parents are homeschooling and one of them has at least a BA in education(which my mom does), they can say that they don't agree with the tests the government is sending in to them to judge my intelligence, and assume complete control over my education. That makes my mom teacher, principal, and school board. The government has NOTHING to do with it, which means no diploma OR homeschool certificate.

*deep breath*

After learning this(I hadn't realized all of that Religious Exemption stuff), I looked over the rules for acceptance into Kaplan. In addition to the basic skills test and all of that, the applicant must:
"a. be a high school graduate, or
b. possess a General Education Development (GED) certificate, or
c. possess a Home Study certificate or transcript from a Home Study program that is equivalent to high school level and is recognized by the student's home state"

And there, I found my beautiful loophole. According to the religious exemption law, ANYthing that my mom writes becomes an official high school document if she says it is. Which means that simple little form we filled out for Christendom was an OFFICIAL HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT, and if Kaplan doesn't like it, they can talk to my lawyers.

I passed this all on to the admissions rep, who was quite excited and hopeful that it would work. She PERSONALLY sent them a letter with all the info that I told her and that she looked up herself.

That was on Tuesday, August 11. Three days after my orientation. Since then, I've done all my homework on time, gotten 100% on both quizzes, and helped the other students, but during and after class. Today, I got a glowing student review from my teacher that had "Thanks, Joe!!!" written on it.

Halfway home, I got a call from the admissions rep. She just heard back from the head office. They want the proof of religious exemption form that my mom received from the Virginia DOE over 22 years ago.

My question is, do they WANT to lose me as a student?

More later. Work now.
Ciao,
-Hich

A cleverly-titled post.

2009-07-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's get the pleasantries out of the way...

Still living at Leah's parents' house, no job, no money. Going to Kaplan college to get certified to be a computer support technician. Leah got a new job at Greuber law firm.

There! Not that that's out of the way, how about we talk about what I want to talk about for a while. That OK with you guys? Good. Now, then... Something strange occurred to me the other day, and I'd be surprised if someone's written on it before.

...

A quick google search reveals that I am quite wrong. Well, whatever, I'll list my OWN observations, then see what others have to add.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER AND HARRY POTTER

*Feature a title character who is "the chosen one".
*The title character starts off by going to a new school, and is immediately popular.
*The title character starts off grateful for their friends, but eventually becomes really whiny about being the chosen one, and how no one else could understand what it's like.
*The title character has two closest friends - one somewhat-bumbling guy who is the comic relief and always seems to be the first to turn on the title character(yet is somehow the most loyal in the end), and a nerdy, super-smart girl.
*The series is seven sections long.
*The title character always looks to an old, wizened British guy for advice and consul.
*The title character dies briefly.
*There's a friendly werewolf in both.

Okay, let's see what else we can find...
Both rebel against authority... Someone equated Snape with Spike... Someone else equated Ginny with Angel(um, no).

The only other good point I could find, and I have no idea where I saw this unless I dreamed it up, was equating the Watcher's Council with the Ministry. The higher-up levels of authority, supposed to be designed to aid the title character(though more loosely in Harry Potter), but end up hindering them more.

Hmm. I miss anything?

Wow, this was a pretty dorky post. I'll have to do something to counteract it. *ahem*

Hot babes. Football. Beer and nachos. Hemi-powered.

That is all.

Ciao,
-Hich

Road Trip

2009-04-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

For a very brief overview of my drive halfway across the country, let me consult my text message inbox from those two days...

"Grandpa said you should be in PA by now..."
"Are you in Denver?!"
"So do you hate Ohio yet?"
"Let me know when you're in Indiana..."
"How many miles from Indianapolis?"
"You're what happens when you get drunk on Cape Cod."

Yup. Adventurous.

I don't have the patience to go into too much detail just now, but long story short...

I moved to Wisconsin - temporarily into Leah's parents' house, until I can find a job and apartment. Spent most of yesterday sleeping, but finally cracked a newspaper today and began the search. There are some definite prospects, so I remain hopeful!

Still not quite comfortable just taking food out of the kitchen. Leah's dad told me to make myself at home and help myself to any food, and quickly followed that up by looking in the pantry and saying "...Not that there's any food in this house to begin with."
Just like home.

Leah and I keep laughing about still being in "visit mode" - feeling like we have to pack in as much time as we possibly can together because SURELY I'm leaving after the weekend.
...Except I'm not.
So despite the fact that we have all the time in the world together, we still feel compelled to stay up late watching movies and stuff. I feel kinda bad - she's pretty tired at work, and I sleep 'till noon. I'm sure it'll wear off and we'll get used to seeing eachother. It's all good.

Blahh blahh... Time to go do something else. Peace.

-Hich

5 Things I'm Glad Technology Is Moving Past

2009-02-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

There are many things in life we take for granted: instant communication, international travel, and boob jobs come to mind. They're the kind of things that, 200 years ago, you know some guy with an impressive mustache said to another guy in a bar would exist some day. Back then, the prospect of fast travel in any direction you pleased withOUT a horse would seem like the sort of thing that would solve all your problems! These days, we've both been there, and done that, and we're ready to move on. C'mon people, it's the 21st century! Where are the flying cars that run on pollution? The androids to do all our chores? The fact is, while hovercars and sexbots SOUND cool, they'll eventually be just another thing we'll be desperate to upgrade. Like the following things are to us, now:

#5: The Shock-and-Awe of the Internet

When it came out:
Ok, maybe this isn't something that TECHNOLOGY is moving past per se, but it IS something that's wearing off. Think about it: when the internet was in its infancy(I consider it to be a toddler now), there were three great things about it - search engines, e-mails, and that same damn video of a monkey picking its butt and smelling its finger that everyone just HAD to see.

Above: Vital information.

These things won our trust, and convinced us that the internet would only get bigger and better, and EVERYTHING that came from it would be good, and true, and reliable.
Except...
Then we came crashing back down.

Suddenly, our inboxes were full of notices about rich family members we didn't know about dying and leaving US all their money! And all we have to do is send our social security number, our bank account number, and a copy of our finger prints to the return address and we could collect our money. Every pop-up ad alerting us that "Your system may be infected!" was cause for alarm, every banner ad telling us that we were were the lucky 1 millionth customer was cause for joy, and every forward claiming that, if we sent it to 12 friends, we'd get to see Bill Cosby dancing, was worth trying just in case!

Your reward.

Now:
Nowadays, things are starting to calm down, at least a bit. Sure, we all still get the occasional e-mail from our grandfathers asking us to help some dying child in Minnesota by clicking a link and forwarding an e-mail, but at least now we can pretty much tell scam e-mails by their titles, and casually delete them.

#4: Blockbuster Video
When it came out:
Blockbuster used to be a fun and exciting place to go. We'd go with our parents, excited to pick out the latest Land Before Time VHS(XIV: And then the meteors fell), maybe convince our parents to buy some popcorn, go home, and watch it as a family!

Happiness brought to you by Blockbuster!

Now:
Screw Blockbuster.

Who wants to go all the way to their local store and pay $6 to get a movie for a WEEK when they only want to watch it ONCE?! EVERY other option is better, particularly
A: Buying the movie for an extra $4,
B: Queuing it up on Netflix, or
C: Pirating it online.
Why bother wasting gas, time, and energy going to the store when you could have it delivered to your doorstep with no late fees? Especially when you see that the movie is due back on Tuesday, but once you get there, you realize it was due by NOON on Tuesday, and so you essentially pay enough to have bought the film, but you still have to part with it.

Then there's the personal aspect of it. Face it: Sometimes, you want to get a movie that you'd rather not admit to the clerk you want to watch. And no, I'm not talking about porn. I'm talking about if I'm desperate to see the latest Pixar movie, I may not be willing to admit it to the cute girl behind the counter!

Pictured: Manliness.

Say none of that bothers you, though. You're rich, you live next door to Blockbuster, and you're getting a Bruce Willis movie. You buy beer on the way home from work, stop by the store, get your movie, settle in to the couch with you're freshly-popped popcorn, put in the movie... Then shout at the TV in frustration as the movie skips about more than a prepubescent girl. You open up the DVD player and discover that, apparently, the last person to rent this movie was an easily-offended rabid raccoon with a diamond-tipped pen, and he just had his way with the DVD. You complain to the person behind the counter at Blockbuster, but there's nothing they can do because that was their last copy. So instead, you go on a shooting rampage, trying to re-create the awesomeness of whichever Die Hard movie you were unable to watch, and die in a shootout with the police.

Thanks, Blockbuster.

#3: Mapquest

When it came out:
Mapquest was a brilliant resource, when it first came out. People were awed at being able to print out detailed directions to the family barbeque with nothing more than an address! There's even a handy little map that prints out with it, so you can follow along with the trip! What a wonderful time we live in, where we instantly know how to get anywhere in mere seconds!

Except...
It's dark, you've been driving for hours, you really want to get to this party, and you think that street you just passed was the one you wanted, but you can't be sure because the street sign's missing. Even if it had been there, you probably would have missed it because it was partially obscured by a tree, and you don't have time to double-check the directions because if you take your eyes of this windy road for two seconds, you'll probably drive into the ditch and have to ask for help from the guys from Deliverance.

"So... Is that a 'no' on the spare tire?"

Of course, you COULD just pull over and look at the handy map. Why don't you? Because you crumpled up the map and threw it away!! Who needs a map when you have detailed directions?!

So you finally see the road sign that you want(it had been knocked over), and you turn onto the gravel road... Which because a dirt road... Which becomes a forest. That's right: this road doesn't exist anymore. The state stopped paying for its upkeep a while back, but nobody told Mapquest! You want an alternate route? Dream on; you're boned.

Now:
Fortunately, you remember the GPS that came with your car. It talks out loud, and tells you where to turn and when! And if you miss a turn or discover that one of the streets you wanted is gone forever, it'll simply re-route you.
Also, Mapquest doesn't have programmable voices so you can pretend like you're Michael Knight from Knight Rider.

"You should probably turn left here, Michael."

#2: Dial-Up Internet
When it came out:
At the creation of the internet, we had to tell our computers to dial the magical "internet's phone number", and hope we hadn't been given the wrong number. We didn't realize it at the time, but trying to get online back in the '90s was worse than trying to get a date. You had to establish first contact(i.e. register with some Internet Service Provider), get to know eachother(give up all your personal information), spend a wad of money(spend a wad of money), and finally, get the phone number. Once you've gone through all that, you plug your computer into the phone line, get it to dial out the number, and, if you've put in the correct number, sweet lady Internet would answer the call.
Then you'd make sweet, information-superhighway love.

Except...
For a while, that was great. Then we started to tire of the routine. It became impossible to use the phone EVER, because there was always someone on the internet, spending 4 hours trying to download some 5 MB video clip somebody sent them.

Still a must-see.

Not to mention, when you call someone on the phone, you get a pleasant "ring, ring" sound. What was that unholy satan-worship service that came out of your computer when you tried to log onto the internet?! You have to assume that anything making that noise is unhealthy or breaking in some way. But wait... It turns out, it wasn't a NECESSARY noise, like the sound your car engine makes when it turns on. No, this was a sound the internet company CHOSE TO CREATE because apparently it was the most descriptive sound they could think of for what was occurring inside your computer. So, instead of a voice saying "Dialing out... Connection established. Waiting for response...", WE had to follow along with "Ba-dum, ba-DOW, BANIP PsssshhhhhhHHHHHHHH...!"

"See? The fingernails-on-a-chalkboard sound means we're almost connected!"

Now:

Cable internet.
We are connected 24/7. If our computer's on, we've got the world at our fingertips, and I don't see mankind EVER looking back. Apparently, there are still people in the US who are PAYING for dial-up internet. Oh, but it's "high-speed dial-up", so it's ok.
Right.

#1: Check-Engine Light
To be fair, we aren't ACTUALLY getting rid of the Check-Engine Light. We're just improving what it means.

When it came out:
Simple concept: There's the oil light for when you're low on oil, the gas light for when you're low on gas, and for everything else, there's the check engine light. Like a handy little fairy you keep in your hat, this little light would turn on if something was amiss inside your engine! It's good to know you'll be warned before something REALLY bad happens to your car!

Except...
The check engine light brings no real information. It's as if the NY Post ran a front-page story saying "Something, somewhere, happened!" All the check engine light tells you is that sometime soon, you're going to be paying a bunch of money to a mechanic. Why? Because the mechanic doesn't know why the light came on either, but he knows it'll take some time to figure out, and that means big bucks from you. The worst part is, the news could be anything from "You've driven 1500 miles since your last oil change" to "You HAVE no engine." The check engine light coming on is like a bill arriving in the mail.

Check engine.

Most people, when that light comes on, choose to ignore it and hope it goes away. Maybe, just maybe, there's a wire loose, and the problem isn't REALLY with the engine, but with the check engine light itself! Either that, or you drive an old klunker, and the check engine light is just part of the aesthetic of the car. The check engine light is just another thing to add to the rustic appeal of your rust-bucket, like that mysterious knocking noise coming from your engine, or the blue smoke pouring out from under your hood. If none of that stuff sent you to the mechanic, you really think a nagging little light will?

Pictured: The solution.

So what's the REAL purpose of the check engine light? Is it to warn us of things to come and hopefully prevent accidents in the middle of the freeway, or is it just to make us shit ourselves halfway through a road trip?
To put it in context, what if PEOPLE had check-engine lights? Would you not take your son to the doctor until his light came on, no matter HOW much bone you could see sticking through his arm? No. You'd use your good sense. With cars, we don't take it to the shop until that light comes on, and once it DOES come on, we just pray it's something minor, and keep driving. Lose-lose. With people, we use good sense and judgment. If someone is acting differently, making weird noises, or emitting foul odors, chances are they need to see the doctor. Such as it is with cars.

Check engine.

Now:
Apparently, mechanics can now just plug a computer into new cars whose check-engine lights have come on, and the car will tell them the problem. Simple as that. Now, don't get me wrong: despite the fact that it takes no effort on the part of the mechanic, no time, and no production costs, the mechanic will still charge you an arm and a leg just to plug his little computer in. But I'm assuming, eventually, this technology will be in every household, and suddenly "check engine" will actually MEAN something. Hooray!

Obama.

2009-01-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

Heh, just kidding. I'm not going to go on a long, political rant... I just don't care enough.

Instead, enjoy these pictures! I was looking through my notebook the other day, and came across some... well... see for yourself.

Bonus points if you can guess which class these were made in.

That's all for now - gotta eat some dinner, call my lady, and prepare for karaoke.
Ciao,
-Hich

The truth about women.

2009-01-18T23:52:00.000-08:00

http://5secondfilms.com/watch/the_man_who_knows_everything_there_is_to_know_about_women
Damn HTML... Just click the link and watch it, OK?!

Seriously, though, www.5secondfilms.com is one of the more hilarious websites you can visit past 2 AM or while drinking. I highly recommend it.

So what's new?

It really no secret anymore to any of you that I intend to move to Wisconsin ASAP. As soon as I have enough money(and hopefully, a job lined up), I'm outta here. And I know what you're thinking: "That's a pretty big 'as soon as'." Well, who gave you the right to comment on my life?

No, seriously though, it DOES sound like it, but I've always been a firm believer in the concept of "It's there for the taking." People who can't get a job just aren't looking hard enough sometimes. Why has it taken me so long, then, to get a life? Part of it was really trying to give National Turn Services a real chance. Ok, that was a BIG part of it. But it just hasn't worked out, and that knocks out a good 4 months or so of money-making. So, I returned to delivering pizzas. I feel the same about it now as I did way back when: it's quick cash, so suck it up.

I'm sucking it up.

And so, I'm back in the plus column. It's a little slower going than I'd like, but it's happened, and that's what's important. Tomorrow, I re-open my savings account(a personal victory). So I slowly save money until I have enough to move on to bigger things...

What bigger things you ask?

Whatever the web has to offer. There's actually some really, REALLY good entry-level jobs in the Milwaukee area. One I've got my eye on is Internal Revenues Agent. You seeing that?! I'd be an AUDITOR!!! I would be the scum-of-the-universe tax collector! I'd be the guy from Stranger Than Fiction!!!
Hilarious, right?

BUT, it's a government job(which are NEVER full), they train you right there, and the money is bangin'. So what if I'd sell my soul? It's only metaphorically.
Anyway, if that doesn't work out, there's a million others. Alls I gotta do is(finally) type up a resume and(finally) get a credit card, both of which I can knock out in an afternoon. Oh, speaking of jobs...

Papa Johns says I gotta work the Super Bowl. What does this mean? It means no party... no drinking... No mini pigs in a blanket, or A-Jay's famous taco dip, or football-shaped bread, or meatballs, or chips, or dip. Basically, my reason for existing in February. This only happened once a year, and I can't be a part of it. Don't they KNOW that Party at the Hichborns' is a TRADITION?! HOW CAN I BREAK THIS TRADITION?!?!
Y'know, it's funny... I presented this problem to three people. The one girl I presented it to said "Well, it's only one year, and at least you'll make good money." The two guys I presented it to said "Well, good luck finding a new job."

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Your stereotypes.

So where do I fall? As much as it pains me, as much as my brother will never let me live it down(I missed the LAST time the Steelers were in the Super Bowl, too)... I gotta keep my job. I'm finally making money, how am I supposed to throw it away? Just ride out the F'ing storm and be DONE with it. I just gotta grit my teeth.

...I'll start any moment now.

Sure, I'd love to have my cake and eat it too. I could just take my other manager's advice and tell PJ's I'll be out of town... But I couldn't.
AUGH, this SUCKS!!!!!!!!

*sigh* Now I'm all worked up. I gotta watch some Whose Line Is It Anyway to calm myself down, then catch some shuteye... See y'all later.

Ciao,
-Hich

P.S. I updated the zombie story a little, but I'll add more soon. I didn't get as far as I wanted.
P.P.S. Everyone remember to pray that FOCA (Freedom Of Choice Act) doesn't pass into law.

Remembering 2008

2009-01-10T23:10:00.000-08:00

I remember...

Starting the New Year, facing my final semester at Christendom. I remember panicking somewhat at the thought of having to finally write a thesis, something I had been dreading since I was roughly 11 years old, but moreso thinking about what I would do after I had to part ways with the first group of friends I had ever had.
I remember the New York Giants beating the New England Patriots in one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl History. I was at my house with Ben, Joey, Tony, Trish, Bex... Possibly others. I remember being perched on the back of the sofa during the Giants' final drive, hoping and praying that they could prevent those cocky a-holes from having a perfect season. I remember Eli's escape, Tyree's head catch, and Plaxico's came-clinching TD. I remember loudly singing "We are the Champions" in the car on the way back to Christendom.

I remember collecting my $20, and systematically ragging on any Patriots fan I encountered for the rest of the year.

I remember Lent, in which I gave up TV shows and movies, and was then forced to entertain myself at the Commonwealth by playing with my camera. I remember making countless videos of all of us doing absolutely nothing. I remember trying to catch the supernatural on film with Rand.

I remember making the trailer for the Commonwealth movie(which I sadly remember NOT making). I remember us putting the trailer in Coffee House.
I remember reading and reading, doing research for my thesis, but not actually writing it until Spring break. 50 pages in 7 days. Gotta love it. I remember getting extremely drunk with Daniel and Mark on that Wednesday off of vodka while we watched Rob and Big, all the while D and Mark convincing me it was for "inspiration".
I remember getting inducted into the debate society.
I remember Joe Hichborn Appreciation Day. I remember making a speech at the podium during announcements, and Dr. Keats giving me a hug.
I remember East-West week. I remember being the representative for East at the big race during lunch, and I remember Dean winning by a long shot.
I remember turning my thesis in, and calling Andrea. I remember talking about graduation.

I remember Leah flying in for graduation. I remember the pride she showed, and that I felt. I remember standing with Andrea the whole time we wore those ridiculous graduation gowns. I remember walking across the stage, collecting my diploma, shaking Dr. O'Donnell's hand. I remember turning around, diploma in hand, and waving it to Mike and Daniel up in the window.
I remember cleaning out the Commonwealth. I remember driving away.

I remember Ben living with us for the summer. I remember getting him hooked on City of Heroes, and hanging out with him after work, discussing the latest pro-life movement tactics. I remember balancing chilling with him and talking to Leah(neither side won or lost, so please try not to feel guilty about this).
I remember starting work with National Turn Services. I remember learning how to do maintenance on a house. I remember losing that DAMN key, and the following 24 hours that seemed to pass so-damn-slowly. I remember the relief at finding it.

I remember buying a car. I remember signing for it, registering it, getting plates, paying for it. I remember throwing together a video in celebration of it.

I remember flying to Wisconsin, to then roadtripping to the St. Louis area(y'know, the FIRST time). I remember shouting "THIS... IS... SPARTA!!!". I remember being shocked when Leah didn't get the reference, and forcing her to watch 300. I remember the pool being closed, and I remember the wedding.

I remember Andrea and Daniel buying a new house. I remember finding out that Kaylee was going to have a little sibling.

I remember the NFL kickoff party at Phil's.

I remember NFL, week 3, Dolphins at Patriots. I remember Leah was in the dining room with Kaylee and Andrea, and Mom was in the kitchen, as was I, because I was listening to the game on Sirius radio. I remember hearing them describe the very first Miami Dolphins Wildcat formation. I remember excitedly telling Dad that the Dolphins were running the single wing.
I remember the Dolphins beating the Patriots that day.

I remember starting my lightbulbs job, and my moment of realization that I had become the butt of my own "How many Christendom students does it take to change a lightbulb?" joke. I remember Daniel having to fire "other" Joe.

I remember the passing of a great woman. I miss you, Joyce, and I pray for you every day.

I remember my car starting to fall apart(and the progression of that for the rest of the year).
I remember watching the Dolphins win game after game. I remember daring to dream that this season could hold something great. I remember flying to Wisconsin so that we could once again roadtrip to St. Louis, this time go see the Dolphins-Rams game. I remember giving Leah her DS. I remember touring St. Louis, going up in the Arch, seeing Dolphins fans outside the church. I remember being scared that Joey Porter was going to beat the everlovin' out of me(but I can't remember why I was afraid of that). I remember "tailgating" in the car in a parking garage. I remember Leah's disappointment, but I also remember laughing about it.

I remember the game. I remember kissing Leah after the Dolphin's last interception. I remember hitting a bar after the game in celebration.

I remember Thanksgiving with the Marsh's. I remember NOT eating turkey, and it filled me with glee. I remember having the flu the week before Thanksgiving. I remember reassuring Leah that I'd be healthy by thanksgiving.

I remember the hiatus of the lightbulb job. I remember swallowing my pride and returning to work at Papa John's.

I remember being desperately poor. I remember having to suffer through a Christmas in which I didn't buy anything for anyone(not as wonderful as it sounds).

I remember the Miami Dolphins last game of the regular season: the dramatic return to the Meadowlands. I remember the touchdowns, the interceptions. I remember the victory. I remember being crowned AFC East Champions.

That's what I've taken out of this year. There are countless other experiences that will no doubt stick with me for years to come, but when I think of 2008, those are the things that will come to my mind. It wasn't the best year of my life, but it was definitely one which saw some of the most important changes in my life to this point. For that reason, it will always be important to me. I've no doubt that 2009 will be every bit as influential, if not moreso.

And so, here's to 2008. For better or worse, here we are.

Bring it, '09.

---Hich

A Hypothetical Question

2009-01-01T10:22:00.000-08:00

So, let's say, HYPOTHETICALLY, that there's someone very close to me whom I've known for a very long time. And this person is a very good person, but is consistently uncharitable, particularly to another person, and has been for as long as I've known them. NOW, let's say that I've always held my tongue, refrained from sticking my nose in it. After all, they knew eachother before I knew them. Recently, however, I've started speaking up, firing retorts at this uncharitable person. Every time they are uncharitable, I snap at them.

Am I doing the right thing?

Was I strong before, in being able to control my temper, or am I strong now, being able to find the words and call out this person for being uncharitable? What's the correct course? Or perhaps are BOTH my courses of action wrong, and I should take a more moderate approach to tell this person they're being uncharitable? After all, I really do feel like I'm just losing my temper with this person... On the other hand, is it not justifiable anger? Anyway, just my thoughts of late...

Elsewhere in Joe-land...

My car is falling apart!
Well, kinda. My frame is rusted through right where the rear axle is braced... I'd say about half it's width is missing. I've been told by two mechanics not to drive it anymore, but then I started delivering pizzas.
Take THAT, the man!
So, I live in constant fear. Meanwhile, I need to find the time to take it to a body shop and see if they can do ANYthing to save my baby. If not, then I have to consider getting a lawyer, because evidence indicates the car was like that when it was sold to me... And that's grounds for calling the car a "lemon".

When life give you a lemon, sue it's pants off.

If my potential lawsuit falls through, I have one last thought... The maintenance guy at Ft. Belvoir always wanted to buy my car. Maybe he'd still want to with it's obvious deficiencies? I figure it's worth a shot... He REALLY seemed to want it. Ya never know. Or, maybe I'll just drive my car until it becomes a news story by backing up traffic on I-95.

Hmm... Oh, yeah...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

So long, 2008, and don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out. Say hello to '09! I was thinking the other day... The "2000's" decade is almost over... what're we going to call it? I mean, I've lived in the 80's, the 90's, and... what? I posed this question to Daniel, my brother-in-law, and he says we should call it the "not-ies"(pronounced "naughties"), which I think is a FANTASTIC idea. Who do we talk to about this sort of thing, anyway? What have previous centuries done?

Hmm... interesting comparison.
In 1990, we had "Hellooooo?! It's the 90's?!".
In 1890, they probably had "Fellow greeeeeetings?! It's the 90's, Lord Stingdingworth!"

So, anyone out there have resolutions? I do!

JOSEPH HICHBORN'S NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS 2009:

1. Move.

Yup, that's it. I mean, there are a few that are necessarily second to that, "moving" having certain implications, like getting a real job, and starting a family, and stuff like that, but listing all that isn't comedic gold, so...
And besides, moving is quickly moving up the priority list. With apologies to my immediate family, I GOTTA get outta here, and for MANY different reasons which are too lengthy to list on a blog in which I do nothing but ramble. So yes, I fully intend on keeping that resolution, and soon.

And finally...

You KNEW it was coming...

THE DOLPHINS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!!
That's right, ladies and germs, that silly team I wrote a poem about not one post ago has moved up from the ranks of "Aww, isn't that cute, they WON a few games! Good for them..." into the category of "Holy SH**, they're in the playoffs!"
Oh, and not just in the playoffs... They're the AFC East CHAMPIONS!!! We're talkin' the BEST out of the Bills, we started the season 5-1 and looked sure to win the division 'till the Dolphins beat them, the Jets, who were being called Super Bowl contenders after week 12 when they were 8-3 and had just handed the Titans their first loss, and, of course, the Patriots.

Ahh, the Patriots. What can be said about a team that went undefeated in the regular season just one year ago, felt the super bowl ripped from their grasp, and came into this season as the Big Shots, only to miss the playoffs entirely? Well, I'm not sure ANYthing can be said... It must be expressed through song.

...I've paid my dues,
Time after time.
I've done my sentence,
But committed no crime.
And bad mistakes...
I've made a few...
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face,
But I've come through!

We are the champions, my friends!
And we'll keep on fighting 'till the end!
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for LOSERS
'Cause WE are the CHAMPIONS... of the world!

I've taken my bows,
And my curtain calls.
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it
I thank you all.

But it's been no bed of roses!
No pleasure cruise!
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race,
And I ain't gonna lose!!

We are the champions, my friends!
And we'll keep on fighting 'till the end!
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for LOSERS
'Cause WE are the CHAMPIONS... of the world!

We are the champions, my friends!
And we'll keep on fighting 'till the end!
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for LOSERS
'Cause WE are the CHAMPIONS...!

Sorry, Pats. We don't have time for you losers, 'cause WE are the champions, and we've got ourselves some bigger fish to fry.

Peace out.
--Hich

What's This? A winning record?

2008-11-10T12:55:00.000-08:00

Just a quick tribute to the now 5-4 Miami Dolphins, and my general reaction to their season thus far.

What's this? What's this?
The Dolphins won a game
What's this?
The single wing's to blame
What's this?
I can't believe my eyes
I must be dreaming
Wake up, Joe, this is insane!
What's this?

What's this? What's this?
It's called the "Wildcat"
What's this?
It tore apart the Pats

What's this?
The fans are saying
This time things are different
Oh I surely should not listen
Because last year's tears still glisten!
What is this?
What's this?

The QB's throwing touchdowns here
Instead of throwing picks
The coaching staff is calling plays
From a giant bag of tricks!

The defense held LaDainian
to merely 35
The "Wildcat" it seems to score
On each and every drive.

Oh, look
What's this?
They're losing once again, oh well,
I guess it was a fluke, too bad!
The entire league is laughing, saying
We played well, we should be glad!
What's this?

What's this?
Right now, we stand at two and four, but wait!
They say we can win more
But how?

We're talking 'bout a team that only won one
On a pass to Camarillo
When our quarterback was Cleo
Was it just a year ago?
I do not dare
I do not dare
Oh, could it be I got my wish?
What's this?

Oh no, oh dear!
It wasn't quite enough.
See here, the "Wildcat" got stuffed.
But wait, we're finding other ways to beat the Bills
It's Teddy Ginn, he's catching balls and
We've won another upset.
What's this?

The Dolphins keep on winning
And it's not just on the ground
The passing game is working
And the defense, it is sound!

My team has won three in a row
And I think I understand
Whatever's happening in Miami
Is truly something grand.

The coach, the team
They're making it come true: my dream
that maybe someday soon, they might
Go further than I've ever seen them go before
I cannot take it anymore

I want it, oh, I want it
Oh, I want it more than gold!
I've got to know
I've got to know
What sort of future does this hold?!
WHAT IT THIS?!
Super Bowl? Hmm...

Ciao,
-Hich

Ok, ok, ok...

2008-10-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

Forget the football picks, forget the video post, forget Alaska. I don't have the patience to get all caught up. So let's just talk about me in the PRESENT, shall we?

Good.

Ughh.... Now, if only there were something to talk about. Right now, I'm sitting in front of my computer, in the middle of my filthy room, wearing a bathrobe and sweatpants, and it's 2:23 in the afternoon. A flock of birds is flying by the window, and a single ant is crawling up my leg.

Inch by inch...

Whoa, sorry, got a little overly poetic there. Those last two things aren't even true. I think, perhaps, I'm losing my mind. Back to business. I'm feeling particularly idle lately. See, I started my new "changing lightbulbs" job last week monday, and it was supposed to be my great, steady job. 13 houses a day, every week day. Sounds simple enough, right?

Well, NOT WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE LIGHTBULBS!

So I've had no work for the past three days, and for the billionth time in a row, my paycheck won't be as big as I had hoped it would be. Bloody hell, am I EVER going to get out of Virginia?! I just can't take the mediocrity of my own life anymore!! Football sucks, my car is falling apart, my girlfriend is a hundred thousand miles (roughly) away, I have NO friends nearby, and living in this house with two spastic parents and no one else is starting to severely drive me up the damn wall. Sound emo? Well, it should! And when I don't even have WORK to get me out of the house, and when I don't have much spending money to justify leaving the house for social reasons, it makes one start to question the reason for getting out of bed in the morning.

You wanna know what got ME out of bed yesterday? Apple butter. THERE'S your proof I've lost my mind - I'm turning into Martha-fucking-Stewart.

... A little nutmeg sprinkled on boiled apple cider really brings out the flavor of fall. It's a good thing.

I've just felt less patient with everyone, less caring about anyone's problems but my own, and when I start doing that, then I really lose contact with myself and, eventually, my friends. Don't you understand that I ignore my own problems by listening to other people's? That's what I do! I'm not supposed to be like this.

MAN I wanna work!

And WHAT is up with the Dolphins?! You can beat the good teams, but you can't beat the CRAP teams?! WHAT THE HELL??

*Sigh* Sorry, guys... Just pissed off right now. Gotta focus on things to snap me out of it(for cryin' out loud, Joe, GROW A PAIR). So, what can I do?

*Work out
*Clean room
*Take care to mechanic
*Write more zombie story
*Play more video games

So, I think I'll try some of that. Have I told you guys about my zombie story? Yeah, you probably know about it. Ok, cool. Check it for updates soon.

Peace out, homies.
--Hich (17)

My Alaska Trip

2008-10-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

To sum it all up, very quickly...

Sorry about the delay, everyone... My account was acting up. But, I'm back, and fully intending on updating regularly! But, right now, I'm tired. Check back in soon for NFL picks, latest news, aaannndddd.... A video post!

Ciao,
--Hich

New? WHAT'S new? Things are NEW?!

2008-08-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

Ugh.

I want my money.

Ok, lots of catching up to do. Where to start? Why, with the most important thing, o' course! I HAVE A CAR!!!

1. Most of you have probably already seen this video.
2. I don't care. Watch it again.

Ok, I WILL continue with my post, but first... I just saw this video. Watch it, too.

I teared up after watching this... I THINK it was from laughter, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, yes, I have a car. A 1995 Black VW Jetta III(Manual transmission, of course). I LOVE it!!! I finally have all the freedom I imagined I'd have when I got my license!!! WEEE!!! Also, it gets 33 miles to the gallon, so HELLZ YEAH!

*Sigh* I'm better now.

Needless to say, right after getting my car, I went out and purchased chrone rims and crome skull doorlocks, because I'm that much of a super-fiscial nerd. Still paying it off, and I'm broke right now, and my boss really needs to pay me like he should have YESTER-FREAKIN'-DAY... BUT, I digress...

Now, the heart of the matter: Brett Favre.

Today, I saw an article. Allow me to give you an excerpt.
"...Here was Favre, the pre-eminent face of the league since McNabb's high school days. A champion universally recognized as an iron man for his durability, Favre was perceived as a force threatening to infect the progress of a Packers franchise looking to hand the reins to comparative toddler Aaron Rodgers. The Packers' greatest hero found himself pushed out of Green Bay like some vagabond with offensive body odor..."
The rest of the article can be found here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp08/columns/story?columnist=smith_stephen&id=3541223

I'll save you the time, and tell you that it carries on, as above, about how no star player is safe if Favre can be "kicked out" like that. Now, allow me to have my say.
Brett Favre is a great football player. He has been a shining example of great play, dedication, and sportsmanship for a good 16 years on the field now. We were all very sad to see him go. But to say that he was kicked out of Green Bay "like some vagabond with offensive body odor" is such a wretched, subjective insult to the Green Bay Packers that I feel it deserves a little rebuttal. Yes, that's right: I feel the Packers, not Favre, are the wronged party in all of this. See, when Mike McCarthy was told that Brett wanted to play again, he was put in a very tough spot. After all, what coach in his right mind WOULDN'T want Brett Favre on his team? None. Brett Favre can win more games than most quarterbacks in the league, and certainly more than Aaron Rodgers. So why not take him? Because the Packers' head coach gave his word to Aaron Rodgers that he would be the starter this year.

"So?" asks the greedy fan. And with fair reason. After all, we've all heard "We are happy with the players we have at this time", or "We have no interest in a trade", or the infamous "I will not go back to coaching college football." But Mike McCarthy, unlike so many people involved in the NFL today, decided to keep his word - something Brett himself was unable to do. After all, he gave his word that he was retiring, and we all know where THAT ended up. He broke his word to the Packers, and put them squarely between a rock and a hard place.

"They pressured him into retirement!!" screams the emotional fan. Here's an idea: GROW UP. You're telling me Brett Favre has never been under PRESSURE?! It's a high pressure business, so cry me a river. He shouldn't have said something he didn't mean, and even after he did, he should have just decided to suck it up, and stay retired.

Don't tell me Brett was thrown out with yesterday's garbage. I'm fairly certain that not keeping him was the hardest decision this organization has ever made, but they made it correctly. Brett, we love you, but you did this to yourself.

If you will all excuse me, I have to go do a Fantasy Football draft. I'll keep catching up later on.

Ciao,
-Hich

My Day Off.

2008-07-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

I was told last night that I wouldn't be working today. Not only that, but when I woke up this morning(at 11:30!!!), I had the house to myself.

...

I enjoyed it.

Beyond that, I've been searching for a digital camera that I like, and won't feel guilty asking for. I have a few in mind... But we'll see. I'm flexible. Oh, also, I'm hoping to go car shopping today. Unfortunately, there's one thing in my way. You see, much like money, it takes cars to buy cars. And, with no one around to drive me to a dealership, or lend me a car so I can drive mySELF, I'm boned.

...There's a second reason why I won't be buying a car in the next few days, and it involves my bank calling me today, but it's a developing story, so I'll not give any details just now.

What have I been up to, you ask? Just workin', gamin', and talkin'. Honestly, that's about it. I work 'till 4 or 5, get home, play video games, eat dinner, play video games, talk to my girlfriend, and go to sleep. I didn't list eating and sleeping because they take up less time than my other pursuits. Weird, huh?

On Thursday, I leave for Wisconsin! I fly out around 5-ish, get in around 6:30-ish, and then I relax. A lot. Hopefully, that's OK with my hosts and hostesses. Leah and I are going on a road trip to a friend's wedding. Incidentally, this is partially why I'm trying to figure out what camera I want - I'd like to have it for the trip. People like pictures at weddings... it's a thing. Actually, I want the camera more for the trip than the wedding itself. I just friggin' love roadtrips, they're great. Ooh, which reminds me, I need to relocate my MP3 player... It, too, will be necessary for the trip. Hope I didn't leave it at A-Jay's... anh, oh well.

Ok, by now you've probably figured out that the whole reason for this post was for the video, and since that part is over and done with, so am I.

Peace out,
--Hich

Anatomy of a bad day.

2008-07-02T17:55:00.001-07:00

So, there I was...

It all started with a Monday. Monday was a good day, or so I thought. It turned out that Monday was actually one of those days that is friendly to your face, but then starts a rumor that you actually have both male and female parts when your back is turned. On Monday, I went to work. I received one set of keys, and was told to do maintenance on three houses. First, the one I had keys to, then the other two, which would be unlocked by the time I got there.

Fine.

So I go to the first house, 16049, and take care of business. It went fairly quickly. Well, that was the only time I needed that key, so I put it in the maintenance bag, and went on with my day.
Second house: 12107. The painters were there, which was pretty obnoxious, but I worked around them, and moved on.
Third house: 11404. Got throught that in all of an hour or so, and my day was done! What a good day. Right?

WRONG!

So, Tuesday starts with me being 5 minutes late to work after being told to be there at 6:30 SHARP. Not a BIG deal, but... Well... just wait. So, I get there, and they immediately ask me "Hey Joe, what'd you do with the key we gave you yesterday?". I think for a moment, and tell them that I left it in the maintenance bag. So, they look, and don't find it. Well, maybe I left it in the box with all the lightbulbs? They check: nothing. I shrug, and say I must've dropped it at one of the houses. At this point, I wasn't particularly concerned, but I could tell that the mood had become anxious and worried... apparently, keys are a big deal in this business. So, we check the Civic, through and through. Nope, not there either. So, I go back to those three houses I did Monday, since I had to do carpets there anyway. Before I leave, we all listen to the voicemail that Phil received last night about one of the painters going to the hospital. Then, we depart.

I go first to 16049, house of the missing key. Nothing - I look everywhere. Ok, no big, it's probably in the second house.
I go to 12107, the second house. Nothing... not there either. A slight chill runs down my spine as I recall how the others were taking this news. Surely, it's in the third house, I tell myself.
I go to 11404, the third house. With shaking hands, I search the house, my soul wavering with every moment I DON'T find it. Alas, no luck. I relay the depressing news, and am told as a response that my priority today, my ONLY priority today, is to find that key.

... But where? Surely, I've looked everywhere.

So, I drive to and search those same three houses a second time, just in case, praying to St. Anthony all the while. Again, nothing. Well, I figure, I may as well get some work done... Maybe the key will turn up. So, I set to work cleaning 12107. I vacuum the entire house, shampoo the upstairs, and brought the shampooer downstairs to clean the bottom floor. Apparently, something magical(evil) happened during that descent, because when I went to turn on the shampooer, nothing happened. I felt the power button snap on something, then hang loosely, like a broken arm.

...Are you f'ing KIDDING ME?!

So, I relay that news as well. The response is "There's nothing you can do. Find the key." Great. I'll get right on it. So, I drive all the way back to Phil's, check the civic AGAIN, and check his garage. Then, I drive all the way home to check my pants from Monday, even though I knew that I never put the keys in my pockets. Well, I was right: they weren't there. I went back to Phil's, and - get this - dug through his garbage barrel. Through the old Long John Silver's meal, through Monday's leftover air filters, and through the shattered glass and broken window. Even that was to no avail. As if that wasn't enough, when I relayed THAT information back to Phil on my way back to the houses, he informed me that I wasn't being paid to drive around looking for something that I had lost. So, not only is this the most stressful day of my job, I'm not even getting paid for it.

Ohhh fun, fun, fun.

So, if I might sum up, the rest of the day sucked. I searched until 4:30, and then I was told to go home. I continues to stress for a while, but Phil DID tell me to be prepared to work hard on Wednesday, and I got from that "Well, I guess I still have a job. Weird."

Day three: Today. I show up at 6:30, and Daniel and I search together for the key until 7. That's when the phone rang.
It's Phil. Daniel puts it on speaker.
"Hey Joe."
"'Sup?"
"Did you lose any sleep over that key?"
No, I think to myself. "Yes."
"I did too. I just got off the phone with Frankie, the painter. He asked me, 'Hey, did one of your boys lose a key? I found one in 11404.'"

I start to shake, but with tears, relief, or rage, I am unsure.

Of course, Frankie was in the hospital all day Tuesday, and couldn't be reached when Phil called all his employees, asking if they had picked up the key. But thankfully, that blow to the head didn't put him in a coma, or make him forget that little key that changed our lives so drastically. That put bad day and good day side-by-side. That caused Daniel to pump his fist and shout "I AM VERY EXCITE!!!" That made the theme from "Last of the Mohicans" play through my head the rest of the day.

The rest of Wednesday went much, much better after that. Got a bunch of work done, planned out tomorrow, and looked forward to the weekend. I have other topics to cover, but we'll save that for next time. See y'all then...

'Till next time.
--Hich

National Turn Industries

2008-06-11T17:02:00.000-07:00

Such is the name of the company that I for work.

That "company" is actually just a guy with a plan. He hired various people to do various things, and oversees the whole thing. Then he started collecting contracts, mostly from military housing in Quantico. Apparently, that makes him a company. But hey, isn't that how they always start? A guy with a plan. Wish I had a plan.

I KNOW! I'll steal all the celery in the world!

No, not THAT kind of plan. A career plan! But for now, this will do.
See, the original plan was, I sign on with them, give a helping hand for a few weeks until their "changing lightbulbs" contract started up on the 16th. Then, I would be working 5 hours a day, you guessed it: changing lightbulbs. But either I did something right, or my boss decided I couldn't work unsupervised, because now the plan has changed. I stay working with him and Dan at 8-10 hours a day, and someone else does the lightbulbs thing. Great! That works out just fine for me because, originally, I was going to pick up a second job since I'd only be changing lightbulbs 'till 12 or 1 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I never got that second job. But now, I don't need one, 'cause this one is full time! And at that kinda pay, it sure beats anything else I could be doing. Working with my bro, getting exercise, good pay... Good stuff. I mean, don't get me wrong, caulking the seal around bathtubs all day long isn't exactly glorious(or dignified), but I finally feel like I'm doing something. There IS satisfaction in a job well done here. So, that's something. On the other hand, there are certain... risks in this job. For example, when you've got a narrow landing halfway up a stairwell, a fifteen-foot ceiling, and a burned-out lightbulb, there are only so many things you can do...

Q. How many Hichborns does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A. Two. One to screw in the lightbulb, and one to do 180 lbs. squats until he can lift his brother while standing on a stepladder.

What else is going on...?
Oh, a car search! But, that'll have to wait, because I'm on the phone. So, sorry to cut y'all off, but I'll post again soon(hopefully).

Peace out.
--Hich

Rants, observations, 'n stuff.

2008-06-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

You know what's annoying? Showers. I was taking a shower the other day, and I was musing on something. Why do they make 180 degrees of temperature options on the faucet, and make 1/4 of a degree actually bearable shower temperature? I mean, it's either fridgid-to-the-point-of-giving-you-hypothermia, just right, or scalding-hot-magma-water. Who would EVER use the fully to the right or fully to the left options? For ANYthing?! It's the same principle as making the speed-o-meter go all the way up to 120 MPH when that's not a legal speed ANYwhere, or making the over go up to 500 degrees when NOTHING calls for that amount of cooking. Does it make us feel more powerful?!

So, I finally have a job. Oh, quick follow up on pro-life t-shirt day... I got dress coded. At a Catholic College. For wearing a pro-life T-shirt. Go figure. Anyway, I work as a maintenance guy, cleaning up houses for new homeowners. It'd be a pretty sweet gig if it was a little more stable hours, but I can deal. At least it pays well. So, yeah. I'm doing that and looking for a car... That's pretty much all I've got.

Luzianne Tea kicks Lipton Tea's ass. I don't care who you are: if you claim to prefer Lipton, it's because A. You've never heard of Luzianne. B. You work for Lipton. C. You are a communist. That's it. No other options.

I like toast.

I had an appreciation day. Like a serious, no kidding, school-recognized "Joe Hichborn Appreciation Day" at Christendom. It was pretty amazing. I had teachers shaking my hand(Dr. Keats even gave me a hug!), it was announced at lunch, and I gave a speech. Hooray for freshmen with too much time on their hands.

I have a webcam!!! Observe:

Also, in case you couldn't tell, I got a haircut.

Hmm... Brief summary of goings on... Ben's living with me now. Oh, and he also reads this blog now, which means I gotta talk nice about him. He and I have been laughing at my angsty antics on here pre-junior year... *sigh*. Good times.

My diploma, which is arguably my most valuable possession(considering what I had to go through to get it), is sitting at the bottom of a stack of useless papers, gathering dust. How is it gathering dust at the bottom of a pile, you ask?

It manages.

Meawnhile, my computer and Ben's SNES get plenty of use. Ironic? No, just a testament. A testament to our greatness.

Oh, I'm behind on ALL reports. Hang on.

Now, I ask you to briefly reflect on the fact that I asked you to hang on, depsite the fact that, for you, the process was instantaneous. Heh, weird.

Snake's still going strong, for those who are interested.

Saw my first firefly of the season.

IT'S RUDE TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS!!!!!!!!!

Ok, that's all for now. Hopefully, this was good enough to re-spark interest in my blog, both from readers AND myself. I want to start posting again... It's good to have a hobby. Cheers, fools.

Ciao,
--Hich

April 29th - National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day!

2008-03-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wandered the streets, and just people watched? Just observe people's habits, and wonder who that person is, what they stand for, and so forth? It is a way to pass the time, but ultimately, you learn nothing new. The person leaves without you being any the wiser. But on April 29th, all of you have the opportunity to let others know who you are, and what you stand for. American Life League is encouraging all supporters of unborn children and the right to life to proudly display their beliefs in the form of a T-Shirt on April 29th, 2008. That way, as you walk through the grocery store, you can know from a glance, at least to a point, who the people around you truly are. If we all publicly show our support, I think America will be AMAZED at how many of us there really are! So I encourage all of you to participate!

-Joseph Hichborn, Pro-Lifer

P.S. Oh c'mon, who among you HASN'T sold out for a free T-Shirt? Honestly. Just click the button on the lower right for more info.

P.P.S. Ok... anyone who read this post already and was confused by some of the... ah... "puns"... I apologize, they were ENTIRELY unintentional. If you had NOT read this post yet, then ignore this paragraph.

How to make an awesome singing, dancing robot!

2008-02-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

This is how I spent my Friday(although I did steps 1 and 2 over the past year and a half, I always wanted to do this, I just never did).

STEP 1: Purchase an "Itsy Bitsy Singing Spiderman."

STEP 2: Remove his flesh with knife or scissors.

STEP 3: Cut the wire in the back(this is the wire that carries the music... doing so will prevent him from singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" anymore).

STEP 4: Purchase a cheap, generic set of headphones.

STEP 5: Remove the "headphone" portion, leaving two wires and the headphone plug.

STEP 6: Strip about 1 inch from both the wire left on the headphone plug and the wire coming out of your robot's head, and twist them together.

STEP 6 1/2: Cut your thumb open while performing step 6.

STEP 7: Plug the other end of your headphone wire into Walkman, CD Player, MP3 player, or other music device.

STEP 8: Amaze your friends.

A'ight, peace out y'all.

Ciao.
--Hich

ALL Video, Movie Trailer, and so forth.

2008-02-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

Ha ha ha... Way to go, Mike. I like that the ALL videos are getting bolder, more creative, and thus more memorable. Viewers: Spread these around!!!!

Also, here's a trailer for a movie that I'd actually kinda like to see:

*Insert rumor that it's directed by the guy that did "Cloverfield."*

As you can see, I have not been directing my attention towards my thesis NEARLY as much as I should, but I'm happy to report that I've been actually doing a lot of that today. Eisenhower's life is surprisingly interesting, plus the author that did this biography is really good... Hopefully I can stay in research mode, and prevent myself from just reading the biography front-to-back.

Speaking of notmythesis, I took two tests this week, and though I haven't gotten either of them back yet, I'm happy to say that I'm fairly confident I kicked BOTH of them in the pitooty!

Yes, pitooty.

It's funny: Every time I tell someone that I'm taking two science courses, the response is always the same: "Why?" Well, the reason WHY is because I happen to LIKE science. I finally feel like I'm taking a legitimate college course, y'know? And before you lecture me on how Christendom teaches much more important things than secular schools, I know all that, but I'd like to be able to talk about things that EVERYONE believes and STILL sound smart. No, that isn't liberal of me, it's egotistical of me. Get it right.

Watch this:

Ok... Nevermind. Stupid HTML won't let me make my little graph to show you how the physical world works. Oh, well. If I could draw on here, I could lay down some mad graphs. Yo.

...They see me ride on... my segway... I know in my heart they think I'm white and nerdy...

But anyway, yeah. Astronomy's cool, too. One of these days I want to go out to the observatory and check it out. The concept of a lightyear still boggles my mind.
Light travels at 670,616,629.2 miles per hour. Multiply that by 24, and you get 16,094,799,100.8 miles per day. Take THAT result, multiply it by 365.2422, and you have 5,878,499,832,134.21376 miles in a year. Spoken out loud, that's:

*Deep breath* Five trillion, eight hundred seventy-eight billion, four hundred ninety-nine million, eight hundred thirty-two thousand, one hundred thirty-four miles and (abbreviated) two tenths of a mile.

And THAT'S not even the worst part!!! We can see stars that are THOUSANDS of lightyears away!!! How is that even possible?! I know, I learned all this stuff (minus the specific numbers, maybe) in grade school, but it's still off the frickin' chain.

*Sigh* Ok, I think I've finished nerding now.
...31,038,479,113,668,648.6528 feet per year.

Ok, NOW I've finished.

In other news... I'm sad to report that the Miami Dolphins have lost the heart and soul of their defense, if not of their entire team. Zach Thomas' contract was terminated about a week ago, ending his 12 year stint with the Miami Dolphins, during which time he earned himself seven pro bowls and led the Dolphins in tackles ten times. He was a great player on and off the field, and we will miss him greatly. His parting words were full of class and appreciation, ending with "I will always be a Miami Dolphin in my heart."

Our hearts too, Zach. Now please, PLEASE don't join the Patriots.

Peace,
-Hich

The Result: Giants 17, Patriots 14. Final.

2008-02-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

Ha ha ha. Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha ha.

HA!!!!

I knew 17 was my favorite number for a reason. Now, I have several reasons.

Have a perfect day,
-Hich

P.S. I know what you're thinking: "What, this late? Isn't this kind of old news?" Well, to answer your question, no. In fact, this will not get old for quite some time. Probably not at least until next season. Likely, not until the next time the Patriots win the super bowl. Which, without cheating, might be damn-near impossible. Too bad for them.

Thesis

2008-02-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

Yup. Thesis. That's exactly how much I know about that long-ass paper I have to write this semester.

...It's called a "thesis".

It's true, I don't have anything written yet, now do I have any research done, and yes, ladies and gentlemen, I REALLY don't have a topic yet. But do I worry? Of COURSE NOT!! And WHY?!?!

...Uh... Because I have really F'ed up priorities, that's why.

Nah, I'll get it done. Starting it is always the hardest part for me, and since I'm essentially giving up distractions for Lent, I will HOPEFULLY be in the clear. But still, that's wayyy in the future, not something for me to be thinking about right now. So what SHOULD I be thinking about? Weelllllllll.....

The Super Bowl.
Giants vs. Patriots

Eli Manning tries to live up to his brother's name, and the Giants try to climb their way out of obscurity and into history.

Meanwhile...

Tom Brady tries to find another girl to knock up and simultaneously make all Catholics look bad because he's supposed to be, andthe Patriots try to cheat their way into history as only the second team to go without a single loss in a season.

Everyone's talking about the patriots. The patriots, patriots, patriots. Blah, blah, blah. I refuse to be one of them. Let's think about the Giants for a moment. The Giants came closer than anyone else to beating the pats. In fact, ever since the Eagles revealed a chink in the pats armor, they haven't quite seemed the invicible team they think they are... Long story short? This is going to be a MUCH different game than everyone expects. That's why I'm calling for a party.

That's right: I may have missed it last year, but the tradition of a Super Bowl party at Hich's house is FAR from broken!!! This year has been a painful one for all of us, but that doesn't mean that the football championship is any less important or meaningful.

And it CERTAINLY doesn't mean it's any less of a reason to drink.

It should be a pretty good party this year. I invited two classes of people: My close group of friends, and my outter-group of friends that know/give a crap about the NFL. That way, I'll have fun AND strategies to discuss at halftime! Win freakin' win, baby!!! I'm sad that A-Jay won't be around, but I guess I have the rest of my life to chill with family, but only this semester to chill with my friends.

Damn you, don't get choked up! Hold it in... hold it in... *sigh*

No, but yeah, we have all the usual foods and everything, so it should be a good time. You should come! I mean YOUUUU!!!!!

Well, I'm now on the phone, and it would be wrong to both you AND the person on the other line to continue with both. And so, I bid you all farewell.

Cheers!
-Hich

ALL Report, and a note of apology

2008-01-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

Dearest Blog readers:

First thing's first. I've fallen behind on my posting of these reports, but please keep in mind, EVERYONE MUST KNOW!!! Except perhaps children... They're good not knowing.

Planned Parenthood attacks Christmas

Planned Parenthood sells sex

Now, the note of apology. Sorry I haven't been updating, speaking, or really doing anything of use since december-ish... But, you see, who wants to read the blog of someone who does nothing? It's like reading a bird's memoirs. Who wants to hear the thoughts of a bird? NO ONE, that's who!! Y'know why? Because birds don't lead epic lives. And neither have I. Until now!

Actually, life is great right now. I'm chillin' in Wisconsin, having a grand time with my lady. We went clubbing last night... that was interesting. Fun, though! Neither of us had ever been to a club before, so naturally, we made a spectacle of ourselves. BUT, I will talk more about this visit when it comes to an end. Then, of course, I'll have school to talk about, so essentially, I'll be BACK ON THE AIR!!!! Wooooooooo!

Until then, however, I must bid you a-doo!

Yours,
--Hich

"It's Perfectly Normal" ALL Video Report #2

2007-11-29T12:12:00.000-08:00

I apologize to anyone that finds this a little more risque than they'd like, but just take that disgust and imagine a ten-year-old child with that book. These things need to be addressed!

--Hich

Victory for the Commonwealth.

2007-11-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

Commmonwealth Uber Alles!!!

Ok, it was just a pumpkin carving contest, and yeah, no one else carved one, BUT... a $15 gift card to Target is a $15 gift card to Target for JUSTICE!!!

Council
Of
Men
Mediatating
On
Nothing,
Warring
Errors
Against
Life,
Truth,
Happiness.

All hail.

ANYway...

Today's going to suck. Why? Because I'm going to finally write my Shannon paper. The only up-side is that I'm going to enjoy the river tonight that much more. Yes... drinking is definitely in my future. Soon. Very soon. First sleep, then paper, then drinking. It's like sugar-coating some bad medicine.

Well, I'm really only doing this because I didn't put up my picks yet this week. As you all saw, I decimated the competition last week with my 10-3 record. And Mike, the "wishful thinking" excuse doesn't work in the newspapers, and it won't work here. You make a pick, and you take responsibility for it(the only reason I'm allowed to change a pick is if there's a change in the line-up).

Now then... let's see...

HICH'S PICKS OF THE WEEK!

Week 9:
49ers (2-5) at Falcons (1-6)
I'm going to judge this game based on the teams' respective losses to the Saints. As the 49ers lost at home 31-10, the Falcons kept the game within a touchdown when they lost on the road, 22-16. This game should be no-contest to the Falcons, and watch for DeAngelo Hall to pick up and interception or two, if Alex Smith has the stones to throw in his direction.

Bengals (2-5) at Bills (3-4)
The Bills have won eights straight against the Bengals, and it won't stop now. Marshawn Lynch will be up and down the field before you can say "WHO-shmandzadeh?"

Broncos (3-4) at Lions (5-2)
The Lions are looking the best they have in a long while, which admittedly isn't saying much. But consider this: all of the Broncos' wins this year have been by three points or less. I was right about Elam's inability to win one for them last week, and this week it won't even be up to him. Naked or not, Kitna's gonna have one hell of a day, and give this to the Lions.

Packers (6-1) at Chiefs (4-3)
Don't think for a moment that just because they both lead their respective divisions, they are in any way equal. The Chiefs will relinquish their lead in the AFC West when they fall to the Packers this week.

Chargers (4-3) at Vikings (2-5)
The Vikings have a killer run defense.
The Chargers have LT.
The Vikings have a terrible pass defense(allowing almost 300 yards per game).
The Chargers have Philip Rivers.

If you have Philip Rivers on Fantasy Football, play him. 'Nuff said.

Jaguars (5-2) at Saints (3-4)
Poor Jacksonville. To be 5-2, and in only 3rd place in your division. Jags are a thing of the past... I keep picking them to lose, and this week you can bet on it. Saints are on the up, and will take their 3rd straight win.

Redskins (4-3) at Jets (1-7)
The Jets' Leon Washington is going to have a field day. Because he's going to have his hands on the ball a lot this week. Because he's a kick returner.
What I'm sayin' is, give it to the Redskins. I'm too tired to go into detail as to why.

Panthers (4-3) at Titans (5-2)
Underdog Panthers. Woo. They win. Moving on.

Cardinals (3-4) at Buccaneers (4-4)
Both teams have near-misses last week... The Bucs was closer, but I have to give this one to Arizona. Kurt Warner's passer rating is third in the NFC, so take it from me: Victory is in the Cards.

Seahawks (4-3) at Browns (4-3)
Is the Seahawks can show the same kind of offense this week as they did last game(they are coming off a bye), this won't even be a competition. Meanwhile, the Browns nearly lost last week. To the Rams. THE RAMS!! I mean... eww. Anyway, the Browns remind me of the early 90's Chargers. All offense, all passing. It won't give them a win this week, as the much-better balanced Seahawks take it on the road.

Patriots (8-0) at Colts (7-0)
Colts. Next question.

Texans (3-5) at Raiders (2-5)
The Texans are the only team Oakland has never beaten. Ha, ha ha ha. Stupid Raiders. My answers are becoming less eloquent by the second, so just take my word for it: Raiders.

Cowboys (6-1) at Eagles (3-4)
Every dog has his day, and all that. Eagles at home.

Ravens (4-3) at Steelers (5-2)
The Steelers better win. Otherwise, I will lose all respect for them, and punch them. No contest: Steel Curtain all the way.

Ok, I'm goin' back to bed.

Ciao,
--Hich

Happy Halloween!!!

2007-10-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome, one and all, to Hich's House of Frights! Please don't mind the skeletons, they don't really need anything from you. Now, everyone have their masks on? Right, this way, please, and watch your step!

Your minds now belong to us...

It's that special time of year, my friends, when children don costumes to delight and amaze, teenagers vandalize and party, and adults scare and terrify (and often, drink)! Yes indeed, it's hard not to like Halloween. To be sure, it's one of my favorite holidays! Sadly, I have more than ghosts 'n ghouls to fear this year...

I have Marshner.

Why would he do this to us, assign a test/quiz on Halloween night? Well, perhaps party city was out of silly string. Either that, or he's just a cynic with nothing better to do. Either way, it's a way for him to get a cheap laugh.

Ha ha, Dr. Marshner.

But I won't let it drag ME down. And why not? Because once that test is OVER, the freaks come out at night! I might be starting the party a little late, but party I shall. Thus far, there is only one concern, and it is costume-related. But that's a post I'll save for later.

It's truly amazing I'm in the Halloween spirit at all, considering. I mean, I look around and I see neither black nor orange (except on my Miami Dolphins coat). There are a couple of feeble pumpkins in front of the student center, but not carved. So, I took it upon myself. I carved my OWN pumpkin, and supported the Commonwealth at the same time!! Observe:

You start by lobotomizing Mr. Jack(Ugh, no anesthetic even!):

Remove his pesky guts (you might save them, if it's THAT kinda Jack-O-Lantern):

Remember to save the seeds!

Pick out a kickass design, and apply it to your pumpkin:

Use a poker and a pen, and transfer the image as best you can onto the pumpkin:

Now, I employ the shaving method. That way, my picture had three layers as opposed to just two. Here's the first cut:

And the same for the other side...

This was the first bit of text I cut out... it was the part I was most worried about, so I was pretty happy with the results:

With the shaving mostly completed, I had only the actual cut-out parts left to do:

The completed pumpkin:

Voila!

Paul says I should put this in the pumpkin carving contest tonight, in order to "bring glory and honor to the Commonwealth". What do y'all think? Do I have a shot?

Drink lots, scare kids, and have yourselves a damn fine All-Hallows-Eve!!!

Ciao,
--Hich

American Life League at Holy Cross in Massachusets

2007-10-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry... did she just say that just because we're a Catholic College, that doesn't mean we shouldn't commit heresy? Wow. Please, everyone, spread the word about this! If this isn't a threat to Catholicism, I don't know what is!

Ciao,
--Hich

P.S. New post below.

Plowing forward...

2007-10-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

So, senior year continues. It's true that I still must buckle down and write my three papers, but seeing as that's ALL I have to do pretty much for the rest of the semester (not counting a Marshner "quiz"... ugh), I remain diligent.

Diligent... do I know what that means? Huh. Well, it seems appropriate, so I'll keep it in there.

This weekend should be fun. Once I finish with classes on Friday (at 9:30 in the morning... that part of my schedule just makes me so happy), I can go to sleep for a while... play some Wii, or possibly Guitar Hero downstairs. OH!! That reminds me!!

The Commonwealth is expanding! I've decided to drop the idea that Paul is a traitor, because it's just too damn depressing. So, yes. Paul has conquered the downstairs apartment and annexed it in the name of the Commonwealth. We now own the entire left(if you're looking at its front) side of the building. It's beautiful. In addition to that, Behe took advantage of the newfound space and moved downstairs as well. Don't get me wrong, Behe's a good guy, but now our room is a LOT less crowded and, let's face it, it's like Freshman year all over again. Tomorrow, the world...

Where was I? Ah yes, this weekend. Well, I may or may not go to lunch, depending on whether or not Ben and I go to Martins and get some food. If we do, I figure I'll just stick in the apartment, eat food, play games, and all that. Then, around 4ish, we go out and collect our (or, more specifically, Ben's) shiny new 72 inch flat screen TV!!! Ohh, it's going to be truly amazing. Wii golf as it's never been played before, to say the least. Of course, I STILL want to one-up that, and sneak the Wii into the library one night to hook it up to a projector...

But that comes later. For now, I'll just enjoy what we got.

So after that, it's off to Trish and Murphy's (or, more to the point, Trish Murphy's) place for a Halloween party! I don't know if we're supposed to be in costume, but I don't think it's really that big of an issue... after all, it's Trish and Murphy's. They're pretty laid back.

Saturday, I'm homeward bound to go to Justin's wedding, which should also be fun. Also, it'll give me a chance to collect some stuff from home, so... hoo-ray.

Sunday, there's church, football, movie-working-on, and then Marshner study group. We'll see how that goes... I hate study groups because I don't contribute anything to them. But I guess it's better than nothing... after all, it's not like I've done any of the reading. Or participated in class. Or...

Hey, I get to see Leah at the end of this semester!!! And Thanksgiving, but you all knew that. Guess I have to do well this semester, lest she kick my ass. So, yes, I now have a date to Winter Formal... sorry, ladies.

The beginning of next week'll suck... that's going to be gung-ho paper writing, Marshner-studying, and pumpkin carving.

WHO HAS A TEST ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT?!? AAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

Surely this must be a trick. After all, it sure as hell isn't a treat...

Whatever. What-everrr. WHATEV!!! Moving on!

Well, time for my new segment: the picks.
Last week wasn't a great opening week for me, as I went 5-9 in my picks. But take a closer look ,and I think you'll see I was more on the ball than my 5-9 record makes it appear!
In the Titans-Texans game, I spoke about the Texan's ability to always keep games close, and that they'd win by a small margin. Well, it turns out I was right about the close game, just wrong about the team. 38-36? I think I deserve some credit.
Both the Ravens-Bills and the Lions-Buccaneers games were decided by a touchdown or less.
I said "Redskins in a squeaker", and what happened? They won, 21-19. That oughtta count for double.
I called the Bears-Eagles game a toss-up, and it was decided by a field goal. Next time, I'll employ the "off" mentality, and just not choose either.
The Steelers-Broncos game... man that one makes me mad. I said the Steelers were playing sloppy, but I didn't think it'd be THAT sloppy. Anyway, I called that they aren't playing well, but that they'd win, and they lost by a field goal. Another near miss.
Next Monday night, I'll listen to what every fiber of my being is screaming at me.
As for the Dolphins-Patriots game, well... I said it would be the upset of the century, and after the game, I was VERY UPSET, so... y'know. Not too shabby.

Well, let's forget the past, and focus on the future. You can count on me to get back on track here.

HICH'S PICKS OF THE WEEK!

Week 8:
Lions (4-2) at Bears (3-4)
Despite the fact that the Lion's won during their last meeting earlier this season, keep in mind that the 4th quarter started with the Bears on top, 13-3. Wild fourth quarters are what keep the NFL exiting, but you can't count on them. Brian Griese is improving by the week, and there's no way this game is going to the Lions.

Raiders (2-4) at Titans (4-2)
Until the Raider's RBs show some durability, I won't have confidence in them. Lamont Jordan is doing well, all things considered, but he has yet to have a real breakout game, and I doubt we'll see it here, either. Though I hate this term, the Titans keep managing to win, and that will happen again to keep them within reasonable contention with the Indianapolis Colts. Titans over the fridge Raiders.

Browns (3-3) at Rams (0-7)
The Rams have yet to show any kind of fight to maintain their dignity, and the Browns will enjoy their third consecutive bye-week vs. a team they haven't played since the glory days of Marshal Faulk and Isaac Bruce in 2003. Derek Anderson will have a field day, and the Browns will break .500 with a win.

Eagles (2-4) at Vikings (2-4)
The Vikings defense is good at getting turnovers, but not stopping points. It seems like they go for the ball strip, not the tackle. Every time. Meanwhile, McNabb is giving it the old college try this year, but his teammates don't seem to be. Despite all that, watch for this game to be quite a shootout, but in the end, the Vikings will emerge on top.

Giants (5-2) at Dolphins (0-7)
The Giants are hot on the heels of the Cowboys in the NFC East, while the Dolphins season is essentially over. However, when the Dolphins' season ends, the fun begins. With nothing to worry about, the Dolphins Cam-Cam offense will open up and have some fun in the first-ever overseas NFL regular-season game. With no luck playing on American soil, the Dolphins with have just the change of scenery they need, and so will their record. Dolphins in a game not-to-be-missed.
**UPDATE** It seems Zach Thomas will be out yet again, this time with "whiplash". I don't want to sound like he's what makes or breaks a game, but call this the straw that breaks the very feeble camel's back. Giants in a London-y win.

Steelers (4-2) at Bengals (2-4)
Though I've had distaste for the Steelers this season, their focus WILL return vs. a division rival. The Bengals DO deserve their 2-4 record, and Willie Parker will walk all over the Bengals D. Give this one to the Steelers, hands-down.

Bills (2-4) at Jets (1-6)
The Bills surprised me this week, but don't expect that to happen again. By that, I mean there's no way they'll lose against a team that couldn't muster a second-half offensive effort against the lowly Cincinnati defense. Bills in a stampede.

Texans (3-4) at Chargers (3-3)
The Texans did a good job last week, but the Chargers will take this opportunity against an abysmal defense to show that they're still a powerhouse team. Watch for LT to score a TD pass in addition to his runs, and watch the Chargers fly through this game in a breeze.

Jaguars (4-2) at Buccaneers (4-3)
The Jaguars had a good thing going, but their four-game winning streak hit a brick wall last week, and the further loss of David Garrard will only salt their wound. Watch for the Buccaneers to begin to re-assert themselves, and watch for the Jags to drop their second straight(though Jones-Drew will have another good day).

Redskins (4-2) at Patriots (7-0)
The Redskins seem to have the Patriots number nearly every time they play. The series is 6-1 in the Redskins favor, with the 6 victories being their last 6 matches. However, I severely doubt the Patriots will respect any such streak, and a decisive Patriots victory will leave Joe Gibbs scratching his head.

Saints (2-4) at 49ers (2-4)
Though the teams have the same record, take a closer look: The Saints are on a two-game winning streak, while the 49ers are on a four-game losing streak. Watch for this to be a powerful rushing battle between Gore and Bush, with Alex Smith tossing a few as well for the 49ers. In the end, however, the Saints will want it more. Saints on the road.

Colts (6-0) at Panthers (4-2)
Last week, I went against my better instincts and against the Colts. That was silly. I'm not gonna do that anymore. This will be the first time the Colts have ever beaten the Panthers, but it won't be a pounding. Carolina will keep it close and keep their dignity, but the Colts will put another on in the "V" column.

Packers (5-1) at Denver (3-3)
There are few things more fun than watching Brett Favre on Monday night, and don't expect this to be any different. The Pack is well rested after its bye-week, and Jason Elam's leg won't be enough to cut the cheese. Packers in a Monday night thrill-fest.

There you have it. Mike: You're on. What's at risk, here?

'Till next time.
Ciao,
-Hich

A desperate bid for ratings.

2007-10-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

Due to a severe lack of interest, both on the parts of the viewers and your beloved author, I have decided to add a new feature to this Blog: Weekly picks. Every week, I will be looking at the next week's NFL matchups and choosing who, in my amateur opinion, will be the victors. I am doing this mostly to inspire myself to post at least once a week(as these posts won't JUST be for the picks, but also my own whinings as well).

So, without further (french word), let's see...

HICH'S PICKS OF THE WEEK!

Week 7:
Titans(3-2) at Texans(3-3)
The old vs. the new. The Texans are looking to break out of the middle of the pack, and their tendency to keep games close will give them a victory in this one. Texans in a close one.

Ravens(4-2) at Bills(1-4)
The Ravens' amazing defense won't break a sweat vs. JP Losman and company. Ravens take it.
**UPDATE** Trent Edwards will be starting instead of JP Losman this sunday. It will help, but not enough. Stick with the Ravens.

Vikings(2-3) at Cowboys(5-1)
Adrian Peterson is good, but not good enough to win a second game all by himself, especially against a Cowboys team looking to re-assert their strength after an embarassing loss at home. Cowboys by a couple TDs.

Buccaneers(4-2) at Lions(3-2)
Joey Galloway has finally found his niche, and look for him to continue building speed. Buccaneers on the road.

Cardinals(3-3) at Redskins(3-2)
Campbell and co. can do a number when they're on their home turf, even against a Cardinal's offense that can be explosive when it wants to be. Redskins in a squeaker.

49ers(2-3) at Giants(4-2)
Look for Frank Gore to start to look like the RB he was last year. 14 days of rest will have done the 49ers some good, and will show it vs. a Giants' team with only 6 days of rest.

Falcons(1-5) at Saints(1-4)
The Falcons' offense isn't bad, but their porous defense will stop Reggie Bush about as well as meringue stops a needle. Take the Saints at home.

Patriots(6-0) at Dolphins(0-6)
The stage is set. The undefeated Patriots are looking unstoppable. The winless Dolphins are ravaged by injuries.
This is Thunderdome.
The Dolphins have a strange tendency to take down the big teams while being unable to win against the weaker teams. This won't be the first time the Dolphins alone have stood against an unbeaten team, and look for the upset of the century in front of a house full of Dolphins' faithful.

Chiefs(3-3) at Raiders(2-3)
The Chiefs won't let a divisional game slip away from them, especially when it means the difference between #1 and #4. The Raiders stand virtually nothing to gain, and Culpepper will fall against the strongest defense in the division.

Jets(1-5) at Bengals(1-4)
The Jets can't even PRONOUNCE Houshmandzadeh, much less keep him covered. He and Chad Johnson will have their pick of the secondary, as well as their second win of the year.

Bears(2-4) at Eagles(2-3)
Take your pick... two big-talking mediocre teams will duke it out, making eachother look good. Give it to the Eagles.

Rams(0-6) at Seahawks(3-3)
Take it from me: The Rams will be the only team without a win by the end of next weekend. Steven Jackson can't keep his promises, and Shaun Alexander will re-establish himself and show Jackson how it's done. Seahawks in a landslide.

Steelers(4-1) at Broncos(2-3)
The Steelers have been flying under the radar despite a 4-1 record, and for good reason: they're playing sloppy. They stumbled against a Cardinals team that shouldn't have even been in the same LEAGUE as Pittsburg. That said, they WILL find their footing against a Denver defense that's allowing an average of 27 points per game. Steelers for a win.

Colts(5-0) at Jaguars(4-1)
Every fiber of my being says "Colts." "Manning Monday Magic." "Indy-structable." And other clever catch-phrases. But, for some reason, I hereby say "Jaguars." Don't ask me why.

So, there it is. Criticize me all you want: we won't know how bad I REALLY am until next week. 'Till then, I demand at least %10 of your winnings, and take no responsibility for your losses. Good luck!!

Ciao.
--Hich

Grounded: The Conclusion.

2007-10-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

Now, where was I?

Ah, yes...

So, I'm told I've been stabbed in the back to my face(then I paid through the nose for something that cost an arm and a leg). Apparently, according to my proctor, he didn't tell me I was breaking a rule because he "didn't want to embaress me by publicly reprimanding me."

Yeah. Bull.

So instead, he chose to let me finish breaking the rule, thereby sealing my fate. Next time, embaress me. Douchebag. So anyway, I ask him if I can go talk to Mr. Wurtz about it and just get it cleared up, but no. He's not here on Fridays. And why would he be? Not like it's a weekday, or anything. Surely no one would want an overnight permission form by then, or anything. Nope. *sigh*

SSOOOOOO....

I wait my time like a good little boy. Monday rolls around, and I call the proctor to ask him if he's spoken to Wurtz yet, so I know if I have to. Please keep in mind, this proctor said several times that I probably wouldn't have to talk to Wurtz. He said he'd take care of it, and I probably wouldn't get any punishment for it. I asked him if I could go talk to Wurtz WITH him, so we could be perfectly clear, but he was strangely against that idea. "No, no, you probably won't have to talk to him, I'll just tell him what you told me."

Uh-huh. I think I'll never let anyone use the word "probably" with me again.

So, back to the phone call. I ask him if he's spoken to Wurtz yet, and the response is: "Yeah, I just finished talking to him. He still wants to talk to you, just to clear it all up, but I don't think you'll get anything for it. I told him what you told me." I'm no psychologist, but is repeating yourself over and over a sign of honesty?

Whatever. Fine.

So, I go speak to Wurtz. He asks for my side of the story, and I tell it, just as I've told you lot, and just as I told Captain Proctor Man. Wurtz seems somewhat surprised at the "he never told me I was doing anything wrong the whole time I spoke to him" and "he wouldn't have seen me if I hadn't called him over" parts. That interests me, because you HAVE to figure that I should only be punished if I knew I was breaking the law(y'know, like GOD does it?), and you'd THINK I would try to HIDE it if I were TRYING to break the law.

WOULDN'T YA?!

But no, I called him over to have a nice chat. I tell Wurtz that his proctor didn't do his job. At all. Then, Wurtz and I have a nice laugh about it. THEN, he says "Well, ok, here's what I'll do. You're campused for three days, starting tomorrow. Other than for class and meals, you have to stay in your room."

... Thank you, sir, may I have another?

Don't do me any favors, or anything. You're sending me to my room? Are you mental? I finished someone's wine because they asked me to, THEN I TALKED TO A PROCTOR WHILE I DRANK IT, AND NOW YOU'RE PUNISHING ME???
I need a drink...

So, yes. Today is the last day of my "punishment". Damn them for making me stay in my room to eat my food, drink my mountain dew, watch my Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and play my GameCube. I'm fairly certain that's me getting the last laugh, but I'm STILL miffed that they actually had the gall to punish me for something so assinine.

Damn. I have one hour to come up with a paper proposal. ENJOY FALL BREAK, Y'ALL!!!

Ciao,
--Hich

P.S. - Here's a picture of me posing with St. Francis during the night-which-must-not-be-named:

Grounded.

2007-10-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

At least, I may as well be.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen: I, a 20 year old SENIOR IN COLLEGE, have been grounded. I must go STRAIGHT back to my room after class and meals, so that I can think about what I did, mister!!

See, here's how it all went down:

Spirit Weeks (or, for our purpose, Spirits Week) is a time for students to really get into their school spirit. To act and dress in a way that says "I support what this college does on a day-to-day basis." Either that, or "I really don't feel like putting on a shirt and tie this week." I think they mean essentially the same thing. Either way, last Thursday was "Dress like your favorite saint day".

Fine.

So, I rummaged through my closet and came up with the old brown robe, used for Halloween, and the like. Well, I threw that and a pair of sandals on, and voila! I was St. Francis of Assisi. So I go to dinner, sporting my look, and find that, for some reason, they've decided that dinner that night is...

Italian Night 2: Hooray for St. Francis!

Let's forget for a second that it was ST. ANTHONY'S feast day. Let's focus, instead, on the presence of wine at this particular dinner.

Ah, cruel fate.

I did not attempt to sneak any wine. I was, in fact, quite uninterested in the wine. I posed for a few shots with St. Francis, and I went on my way. On the way out the door, I happened upon a friend of mine. For security reasons, his name may be changed. Anyway, Frank said "Joe, I can't finish my wine. Will you do it for me?" And I, being a kind and generous friend, agreed. So I took the half-empty cup of wine, strolled outside to the front of the commons, and sat on the bench there, calmly enjoying my wine. Now, I, like most of you I would imagine, don't care to drink alone very much. So, when I saw one of my favorite proctors walking by (he didn't see me there), I called him over. We had a pleasant chat while I finished my wine, exchanged no words regarding rules, and then, we both went on our way.

Yup. A pleasant afternoon.

The next day, there's a knock on my door. "Joe, I need to talk to you for a minute."

Uhh... ok.

So I step outside, and am greeted with "So, basically, I saw you drinking at the party the other day." My response is: "Uhh.... what?"
"I saw you with alchohol."
"...Ha ha, very funny."
"Yes, it is."

...

At this point, my mind is trying to figure out WTF he's talking about.

"At Italian night, I saw you with wine."
Umm... yeah, I know. I called you over to talk to you. Because you didn't see me. Douchebag.

Come to find out he's already informed Wurtzy-poo WITHOUT having brought the issue up to me. At all. I explain to him that I was finishing the wine for someone else, and he says "Oh, ok, well, I'll talk to Wurtz. You probably won't get anything for it. Sorry, but I have to do my job."

Wrong again. Douchebag. Your job is to STOP ILLEGAL THINGS FROM HAPPENING, not watch them calmly, then go run and tell Mommy.

I have class. To be continued.

All I feel is hate.

2007-09-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Nah, just kiddin'.

Rant rant rant, whine whine whine, inside joke, WHINE.

Wait... is this my blog, or is it one of the thousands of others, all of which have the same mission statement? Must regain focus.

Focusing...

Ahh, that's better. So, what am I up to? Wasting time. It's starting to make me feel bad. I mean really, how on earth am I supposed to write a thesis if I can't even motivate myself to get a paper proposal done by Wednesday? Not to mention study for a midterm on Thursday... I just CAN'T. There's something about those classes that screams that they don't matter. And I think that's because, any other semester, they WOULDN'T. History has always been the "Yeah, I'll get to that eventually" class. But now, not only are ALL my classes History (although Marshner is more a category all to himself), but they're all in my major, which means I BETTER work in them or I don't graduate! Weee...

My laid-back nature is causing me stress. Figure THAT one out.

What else... East-West practice is on in full-force. I never DID propose that certain Offense to Bobby... but I still have time, so maybe I still will. How are we looking, you ask? Well... I like the sleeper picks. Let the west get cocky, I don't care. We won't know the result of the game 'till it's finished, so shut up and do your stretches. Especially your ankle stretches. So you don't roll your ankle.

...Like I did. Ow.

It's all good, though. Just a reminder to do all the stretches and what-all.
Oh, I just got an idea! Check it:

The official Commonwealth of Guardian Angel seal. Concept sketch by Rand Brown II, drawn on the computer by Joseph Hichborn. I.

Pretty sweet, eh? We're excited about it. We even used it in the intro to our ninja movie, which you all don't know about. Why don't you know about it? Because we're NINJAS!!! We're masters of every form of combat.

THAT'S why.

So anyway... Dolphins are down by a TD right now, but I remain faithful and confident. After the game, I'll head back to the Commonwealth for some Timesplitters. Then dinner. Then, THEN... MAYbe... homework.

Heh. Right. Ain't I a stinker?

Aight, friends. Keep it real, and I'll keep posting. Ciao.

--Hich

Senior year.

2007-08-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

So, this is it.

The one we've all been looking forward to, or fearing, or however the rest of my class feels about it.

Senior year.

Don't ask me how it's been, because I pray to every saint related to college that my first two weeks here aren't an indication of things to come.
I shouldn't say "first two", because honestly, this week hasn't been all THAT bad... More of a roller-coaster, actually. Imagine the most fun roller coaster you've EVER ridden. Now, imagine being shot several times while you were riding. Would you ask to get off, or figure that SURELY you wouldn't be hit by any MORE "stray" bullets? It's kinda like that.

But I digress. It just took a bad turn today. Like, one of those senior-year changing turns. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

So it all started when we got our room assignments. We (The Commonwealth of Guardian Angel: Ben Hough, Joe Hichborn, Rand Brown II, and Paul Amadeus Provencher) had been waiting all summer for them, because they would be the bearers of good news. We had spoken to Wurtz-y about our living situation at the end of last year, and he told us, verbatim, that were were "at the top of the list" to live together in Cardinal Newman (Guardian Angel is its TRUE name). So imagine our reaction when Ben and I opened our respective letters and found that we were, indeed, living together.

In middle floor Saint Ben's.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of my Catholic faith, but if I want to go to hell, I should at least have the fun of sinning, right? Rand and Paul had similar issues: they got to live together as well, in St. Augustine's. Yeah, right. Well, at least St. Augustine's has a kitchen, Ben and I figure. So as soon as we arrived on campus, we went straight to St. Augustine's to move in next door to Rand and Paul. Room assignments be DAMNED!

...

Later that day, Ben and I moved into St. Ben's. We didn't unpack, however, because the war was FAR from over. So we waited. Wurtz told us he'd talk to us on Thursday (delay tactic, Rand informed me). So we waited more. At 9 AM, we waited outside Wurtz's office to speak to him. He arrived, and said he'd talk to us at 5 PM(he fears us, Rand assured me). So again we waited. At 5:15, I got out of class and walked to the office. Our time had come. Negotiations were tough. I'll spare the details, suffice it to say he said he'd "do everything he could", and that he "had to talk to the others involved", and that he'd "get back to us". Despite the dodging, and the lack of ANY concrete answer, we felt good. Tomorrow, we'd have our answer.

We waited.

At last, I got the call: we were moving in! We initiated the move, and the Commonwealth was re-established at last.
That was all last weekend. We've started fixing the place up: moved all our stuff in, unpacked, arranged the living room somewhat, all that good stuff. This weekend, Ben and I arranged to go to each of our homes, and grab the rest of our stuff. We didn't pack everything, since we knew we'd be moving, and didn't want to lug too much stuff around.

Well, it seems ol' bait and switch is at it again. I suppose I shouldn't rant on this blog, for fear of offending the parties involved... suffice it to say that the Commonwealth, by its very nature, will ALWAYS be under fire by the administration.

Did I mention the summer? It continued, more or less as planned. Highlight of the summer was a bit of a tie between the birth of my new niece, Kaylee Joanna Read...

And visiting my girlfriend, Leah Colleen Marsh...

I sure as hell can't decide who's cuter! Luckily, they don't seem to be jealous of eachother, so I can have my cake and eat it too.

Kaylee's a very sweet little girl, and she loves her uncle Joe. I helped babysit her yesterday afternoon, and she was happy as a clam (until it was feeding time, a power I still lack). AND she has a cousin that's one month younger than her! Sebastian Alexander Hichborn was born last Saturday morning at 12:30 AM. So I'm pretty much completely loaded down with nieces and nephews now. No more, you guys. Seriously.

Leah's just an awesome girlfriend. Aside from just chillin, which we did a lot of, we went out to see a couple of movies, went to FREAKING GREEN BAY TO SEE LAMBEAU FIELD(pictures on Facebook, sorry), AND one night we went out to a very nice restaurant, had an amazing meal (who's leftovers I left uneaten in Leah fridge, darn it), and then we went to play putt-putt (still wearing our nice clothes from the restaurant).

We tied.

Anyway, lot's of cool stuff all around. NOW... Back to C-Dom.
Despite it's many faults, it's almost good to be back here. I have a full schedule:

Last weekend I went to the river and moved in.
Tonight I have a fantasy football draft.
Tomorrow, I'm going home to collect my stuff, and drink, and do more fantasy foorball draft.
September 9th, I'm going to the Miami Dolphins vs. the Washington Redskins kickoff weekend football game. In box seats. With air conditioning, and buffalo wings, and the like.
September 16th, Mike's coming to Fro Ro for a guy-movie weekend. Which will be amazing.
September 24th... well, we'll just have to see, won't we?

What? Surely you didn't think I meant CLASS when I said "schedule", did you?! Ah, my fair reader... you have much to learn.

Speaking of class, it's Bracy time.

Cheers,
--Hich

Indentured Servitude, Right Angles, and a Full Range of Electronics.

2007-07-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

So, it's still summer.

I've finally found a calling for my summer. And no, it's not the work force... those cash-toting, rat-racers are just nuts. No, instead, after seeing what happens when a family member passes away without ANY affairs being in order, my Mom and I decided to spend the summer getting the house taken care of. You know how every now and again, you'll turn to your parents (or vice-versa) and say "Ooh, hey, wouldn't it be neat to...

A. clear out this room and do something neat with it?
B. Re-arrange over here?
C. Go through everything we've ever owned so we can once again move unhindered through our own home?"

Yeah... I used to do that a lot. Say things like "I really should clean out my closet..." or hear my mom say "Yeah, I really should get (blank) taken care of..."
And of course, we're Americans, so the things don't actually GET DONE. We just say them to make ourselves feel better.

Well, we're actually doing it. All of it.

Now the idea was that this was my mom's idea, and she felt at least partially responsible for the mess itself I suppose, so this would be her project. However, then it occured to me that I had three things that needed taking care of.

1. A lack of a job.
2. A lack of money.
3. A girlfriend who's head was going to explode if we didn't see each other in some kind of near future.

So Mom and I made a deal. I'd help her out with the house (above-and-beyond regular chores, and so forth) if she would buy me plane tickets to Wisconsin this summer. This worked for both of us.

TASK 1: REC ROOM (A.K.A.: WRECK ROOM)

This was just daunting at first glance. I wish I had taken before-and-after pictures because... yikes. There were two paths in this fairly sizable room... one from the downstairs entrance to the pantry, which was packed with food and luggage, and (if the person could jump and step just right) one from the upstairs entrance to the back room wth the freezer. The rest was filled with STUFF. A couch, a ping-pong table, piles upon piles of knick-knacks from when I was about 9, boxes and boxes of books and more knick-knacks, board games, mutant arachni-crickets, and more boxes of things that don't even belong to us. Now, words can't really do it justice... suffice it to say it was BAD in there.

Oh yeah... there was also Christmas stuff.

So we went at it. We moved the couch so we had room to work, sorted and cleared the board game room, put ALL the boxes of books in the garage, put the table in its storage position, and threw away a good 847 lbs. of stuff(approx.). We swept, we cleaned, we fixed chairs and benches whose parts were scattered around the floor. We put all the Christmas stuff in the area under the stairs, and successfully put up closet curtain/doors to cover it up.

Then, we declared victory. Of the battle, not the war.

TASK 2: STORAGE ROOM/FORMER OFFICE

That's right, folks. The Rec Room WASN'T the storage room.

This is our current focus. We're turning it into the grandkid's room. Which means we'll probably need to put in a carpet, or something.

Which means we'll need access to the floor, at some point.

We've already put a dent in it, by clearing out all our old VHS tapes and boxing them. I actually found a box with a butt-load of speakers and a 5 disc DVD changer... it's sorta broken, but it doesn't look too bad. I'm going to tinker with it for a while, but I won't know if I've fixed it unless I can get my hands on some power cords that fit it. *sigh*

So, yeah... Task three will probably be re-arranging the Rec Room (It's mostly cleared, but only of stuff we thought WOULDN'T stay). See, now that most of the family has moved out, my parents are making our house cool. They want to put a bar in downstairs in the family room, which means moving the tv/entertainment center into the rec room, which means re-routing the cable, and some other stuff that would extend this already-oversized post.

So, that's how I'm spending my summer. Come August 2nd, I'll finally get to see Leah, which will mean a break from my indentured servitude. I'll be ready then... I have to admit, though, that once we're on a roll, I don't really WANT to stop. Mostly because I'm afraid I won't be able to start again.

I move on, now, gentle reader, to something a little lighter...

My brother has gotten his license back finally, so now I'm sharing the truck with him... it's no big or anything. It's just that, in all reality, he gets the tie breaker for it because, let's face it, he has a job and I don't. This isn't his rule, it's mine. My mom's pretty generous lending out her car as well, so it's not like I can't get anywhere either. Just have to work around people's schedules. ALTHOUGH, it's nice when Daniel has the truck so my mom lends me her car, since the truck doesn't have A/C but the car does. And with these afternoons averaging out at about 90º, having the windows down doesn't always cut it. I like my angles a little more acute, if you catch my meaning.

Big Sis A-Jay is gettin' ready to have that baby of hers... I must admit, I've gotten pretty used to her being pregnant, but all good things must come to an end, eh A-Jay? Heh... for that she will hit me, which is why I'll take this moment to remind her that I brought her back a nice bottle of Lemoncello from Rome that she can enjopy the moment she has her baby. And I'm sure the whole newborn daughter thing will soften her up a bit, too. After all, she doesn't want the baby learning to hit her Uncle Joe!

...Right?

Mike, too, is getting ready for a new child, though not quite in the same way as Andrea. Not quite at all. No, Alyssa is the pregnant one, but I think she's more used to having kids than Andrea. I hope that doesn't make her feel left out, like Andrea's stealing the thunder of Alyssa's pregnancy... even though she kind of IS... It's all the same to me, all I know is I've got ONE MORE niece AND nephew to play with!! Plus, I'm kind of excited to see how Brendan deals with having a little brother... I get the weird feeling that the two of them will get along really well. I foresee a Mike - Andrea - Joe relationship happening between Brendan - Sonya - Baby Boy X. But, that's just me.

I must put an end to this. It's all too real. I need crazier things to talk about.

TRANSFORMERS! ROBOTS IN DISGUISE!!!
That movie was freakin' amazing. Everyone should be watching it right now. Even me. In fact...

Hichborns, roll out!
-Hich

I don't mean to brag, but...

2007-06-16T20:53:00.000-07:00

I Scored a 100%!

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

CAN I get a "Hell Yeah"?!

I owe it all to you, Ma.

--Hich

If only I could type with a lisp... San Francisco.

2007-06-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

Cable cars, Rice-A-Roni, "Full House", China Town, gay people, these are just SOME of the things that come to mind when someone says San Francisco!

And that's where I am, for now. My great aunt Katie passed away on the 18th, and so Mom and I came on out here to take care of things(clear out her apartment, and the like). It's a little strange... I mean, I never KNEW her, but here I am going through her whole life. Based on what Ma and I have found, I don't think we've even begun to scratch the surface.

You can tell a lot, if not everything, about a person by their memories. That's why when a couple starts dating, one of the first things they do together is go through old pictures. Aunt Katie has none. At least, not that WE'VE found. No framed photos, no albums... nothing. At some point I have to wonder if she actually got rid of them, as opposed to simply not taking any. In restrospect, I don't think we've come across a camera either, however. I think if I've taken anything from this, it's that I'd like to get to know my extended family a little better.

As for San Fran...

I hate the city. Not this city in particular, I just could never live in a city. First of all, I decided I was more comfortable in Rome. I think more people spoke English there. Of course, the language barrier WAS nice in Rome when someone would approach me trying to sell something, and I could play the "I don't speak that s***" card and just ignore them. Here... well, I still ignore them, but they know I understand them.

Oh man. So, Mom and I are on the bus yesterday, when suddenly some guy a couple rows ahead of us stand up, angrily punches in a number into his phone, and starts yelling into his phone about how (the fellow he's yelling at) is going to death row, and how he's going to testify in court, if necessary, and blah blah blah. This wouldn't have been so funny if he hadn't been yelling with a lisp. I mean, this guy was going OFF. And all five of us sitting in the back of the bus were struggling SO HARD to keep a straight face.

Most of us were failing.

Especially when he came out with "And ME, a gay male, who thought he could have pride in San Francisco..."
So finally, he hung up, and started speaking out loud to himself about how it was "sick", and that he "never thought he'd have to play the gay card", and so forth. Eventually he quieted down. So, as the back of the bus fell into an awkward silence, Mom pipes up with, in a fairly audible voice, "Hmm... maybe I can start something by making a crack about taking my aunt out for lunch." while holding up the cremated remains of her recently deceased Aunt Katie. Now, mortality is only a laughing matter in certain, delicate situations...

But timing is everything.

The five of us who WERE holding it in just let loose. It was pretty hysterical. Finally, we are approaching a stop, and Captain Subtle stands up to leave. Upon seeing this, the lady sitting next to me started dancing openly. Then, her eyes widened, and she turned to her friend.
"Isn't this our stop?"
"Umm... yup!"

The poor lady collapsed in the seat. She was OK, though... as she was standing, I told her "God go with you". She appreciated it. :)

Man. I could never be P.C. It's not enough fun.

Go easy on the Crisco, I'll see yuh in 'Frisco.
--Hich

How's that taste? Bitter? Hard to get down?

2007-05-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

I'm referring, of course, to my pride. I need to swallow it. And I'm not talking about my lions, the state made me get rid of them MONTHS ago. I mean that thing that makes my head swell up like a finger smashed by a hockey puck.

For the past month, I've been lazing about, telling myself that I want a REAL job, something to get my foot in the door for my first summer out of college. Then, I sat around doing nothing. Well, that ship has sailed. Now I need a job.
I mean, yeah, it was a respectable pursuit, but let's face it: I'll have plenty of time after college to get a job. But summer is running out. I don't even need the money THAT much, I just need to be doing something. I CANNOT laze around this house anymore. When I relax, I want to feel that I deserve it. So, that's it. I'ma get a crappy, dead-end, no-respect college job or two to spend my time. I think maybe my problem was I was intimidated because the two people I talk to the most, Daniel and Leah, ARE out of college, and DO have, or are looking for, respectable jobs. I just thought, why don't I? But there's actually a pretty good reason. I'm not looking for a long-term job, which is really the only respectable job I'm looking for. There's a REASON some people are called "temps". So, yeah. That's my revelation. I'm ready to get a coupla crappy jobs, make some money, and do something with my summer. After I GET the jobs, I can start planning my vacations! Like: Go to Wisconsin, go to Kings Dominion, go camping, go.... away! Anywhere, I dunno! Could this be the summer I get a car? Could be, it's just gettin' started, after all.

Ok, thanks for putting up with that ramble. Now, something we can all enjoy.
Uh.... did you know that eating breath mints until 3 am is NOT the equivelent of brushing your teeth? Eww.

OOH! My blog should do a clip show. You know, re-post some of my best quotes, or even comments! After all, we HAVE decided it's going downhill, so a clip show would be PERFECT! Of course, I'll throw in about 3 original lines between clips, to make it FEEL like a new post, but it won't really be. It'll just be a trick.

Did I already do a "I'm a senior, woooooo." flipout post? Well, just in case...

I'M A SENIOR!!! WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wanna huck some freshmen in the pool... not that they have the luau outside any more. Yeah, THAT makes sense.

I hope you all realize, now, why I waited so long to post. Sitting around here, I have NOTHING to say. Now the questions should be, why DID I post? I guess just to talk about jobs... sometimes I forgot that this is MY blog, not y'all's.

Y'all's.

So, y'know, no whining. Ooh, phone. ...Doot doot doo... Ok, why do so many people have to ask if "Fence Post" is one word or two?! Honestly!!
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fencepost
NO RESULTS FOUND, YOU INCOMPETENT AMERICANS!!!

Minimum length reached. Shutting down. Beeeeeoooooo.......

Well, I'm phasing.
--Hich

I forgot one.

2007-05-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

I was wrong... there is one more way a person can be stressed. That is, in relation to another person, be it worrying about someone or missing them. This differs from the other kinds of stress because, unlike studying for finals, the stressed person has no control over this. The stress stems from what you WANT, not your actions (i.e. I hope he/she is OK, I hope he/she comes home soon, etc.) To be harsh, this is the most useless kind of stress. It does not fuel you to better your life; rather, it bogs you down. It can even lead you to rash decisions(though they may turn out well, if your fears are well grounded). I suppose the only real solution to this is to talk it out with someone. That, and scotch.

There are bound to be disagreements with me on this, which is fine. Everyone has their own way of dealing with stress. I tend to avoid it altogether, at least in great quantities. That's why I'm such a cold, objective observer to it. Maybe I'm wrong in all this, it's hard to say. But it's my take on it, anyway.

I want a new topic... one that won't make me sick.
ONE THAT WON'T MAKE ME CRASH MY CAR, OR MAKE ME FEEL THREE FEET THICK!!!

*cough* Wow. Thanks, Huey, for breaking the ice. Hey, my room's getting cleaned! I've been workin' on it and everything! I even dusted my desk! Can you all believe it?! No, probably not. But I don't care!

I have to go get my Dad, now. Don't stress about it, I'll survive.

Um... hmm... new, cool, sign-out saying.

Hichborn, out!

Oh man... just no.

Until we meet again...

Nope, sorry, Jane Austin just called and threatened to sue if I use that one.

Ok, I'll borrow one from CWOD Gazette until I can think of one for myself.

Be manly!
--Hich

Words... should've sent... a poet...!

2007-05-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it's done. My trip to Rome is officially a thing of the past. Not just because I'm home, but because I've seen all my family and friends(that live in Virginia, that is) and given them all their souvenirs. There's nothing left for me to do but find a job and settle in to...

The Summer Life.

So now, INSTEAD of finding a job or finishing unpacking, I'm lying in bed, my laptop atop my lap, marveling at the comfort of my bed as compared to those in Italy. I'm ALSO marveling at the speed of the internet 'round here. It's a pretty-pretty nice. What's the next step for me? I don't know... this week will be:
1) Unpacking
2) Cleaning
3) Saying final goodbyes to the people at C-Dom (Graduation is this saturday, I believe)

In the coming weeks, there'll be stuff like job-finding, friend-hang-out-withing, and sip-lemonade-in-the-hammock-I-wish-we-owned.

Ing.

But I'll jump that hurdle when I come to it. That's an attitude I have towards many, many things. Is that bad? It's not like I NEVER plan ahead... I just try not to let stress get to me before I need it. Yes, like it or not, I need stress sometimes. We all do. Stress tells you when you need a vacation, or a re-arranging of priorities, or even a new something(Job, relationship, environment). Not only that, but stress is what makes you get things done. I didn't get stressed out over finals in Rome, and what happened? I studied for 15 minutes for each of them. That CAN'T be good. I'm not saying you should be happy when you ARE stressed, because stress is just a sign of a need for change. If you're stressed about something(like finals) then either A) you haven't studied enough, or B) you need to relax a bit, and hang out with friends or something. Remember, you won't see them for much longer.

Here's where the problem comes in. People can't tell if their stress is telling them to work harder or less hard. This is where the great priority shift comes in. Let me break it down for you.

If you're getting an A- on all your finals, and you're studying an extra hour per day to get rid of that minus, you BADLY need to chill. Honestly, who are you trying to impress? Because it's certainly not working on me.

If you're lying in bed, posting on blogs, and whining that you haven't gotten anything done yet but you're too unmotivated to move, you probably need to work HARDER.

If you're very pregnant, taking 4 english classes, forbidden from drinking alchohol, and easily stress over finals reGARDLESS... *shudder*. Never mind, I can't even IMAGINE someone in that unpleasant a situation.

See what I mean? In a way, stress makes the world go 'round. It's what gives people their identity. That said, it still sucks, and I pity people who put stress on themSELVES when they really don't need it.

...

Hmm.... and so, there's my essay on stress. It may not be in PERFECT Turabian format, but really, you think I'm going to put that kinda stress on myself? ;)

Ciao.
--Hich

P.S. Ugh... "ciao" was a cooler thing to say before I went to Italy. I need a new "Peace out" thing to say. I'll figure that out later.

Back to the future...

2007-04-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, my chronology is ALL outta whack, but that's ok! I'm now going to travel backwards in time, my friends. Observe and be amazed as I go from Easter... to an entire week BEFORE Easter!

Really quick, though... Double-you tee eff is up with photobucket? My pictures are starting to be less displayed, and more... implied. Oh well, I'll fix that later.

So, anyway, here we are, on April 1stish. We wake up bright, early, soon, and in the devilishly wee hours of the morning to head out to Orvieto. We get on the bus, I scream "17!!!" (Rome inside joke), and we're on our way. 1st stop: I don't remember the name, but it was the first church that St. Thomas Aquinas was assigned to. It even had the same Crucifix as it did then, though it was a little worse for the wear. Check the church:

And it wasn't just brick facing, either!

So from there, we moved on to the Cathedral. I... don't remember what was PARTICULARLY special about the Cathedral, short of the fact that it was big and decorative, and all of the thing that Romans need to survive. Also, it looked really cool in the sunrise.

Great picture, Joe!!

So we explored there, I stopped in a shop for a split... then we had lunch! But before we could have lunch, we needed one minor thing... see, Orvieto is known for it's white wine. It's true; you can ask anyone. So Liz, Megan, Bebop, Rock Steady and I all went to a quaint little shop for some quaint little alchohol. We got one (sigh) bottle, and started wandering around looking for a place to eat. We rounded a corner, and saw this:

How's THAT for a view during a picnic?!

And actually, there was a little wall for us to sit on, so we set up.

Oh, by the way, Sarah Daley is Bebop and Sarah Berger is Rock Steady. I decided during that very picnic that those are their names. I'd be all "Hey, Sarah." And they'd both be all "Yeah?" and DUN DUN DUNN music would play in the background. I had to fix it.

I don't like dun dun dunn music.

Right, so we had a lunch of rice cakes, crackers, cheese, bread, salami and wine. It was quite quality! We finished our one (sigh) bottle of wine quickly, then Bebop and Rock Steady wandered away. But not before Bebop got a shot off:

It's like I said on Facebook: What an incredible view!! And I don't mean the mountains... ;)

Nor do I mean the girls.

Actually, I can't backup my ego right now... I need a haircut so badly. I almost got Bobby to cut it, but Kyle talked me out of it. We're toughing through the entire semester without a single haircut. It's... rough. As you can see.

So then, we started walking... I was fascinated by some barred-off caves and was yelling into them until Liz quipped "Oh yeah, I remember them saying something about an underground sewer system..."

And then the smell came.

Needless to say, I cheesed it outta there as fast as my ankle would carry me! Which, it turns out, is pretty fast when faced with such an adversary! During our tactical retreat, we came apoun another scenic outlook, and Megan ran towards the dangerous ledge with a carelessness that would give the Easter bunny a heart attack.
I, having a slightly stronger heart than the Easter bunny, snapped a shot.

I almost feel bad for pushing her.

Heh, just kidding. I don't feel bad.

As we continued our walk (during which I leapt over the cliff, as you all have seen), we searched for Liz's street. See, when we were waiting outside the church, we started looking at our maps, and realized that Liz has a street named after her in Orvieto! Viale Carducci. So we just HAD to find it, just HAD to. After talking to a crazy old Italian man, who APPERENTLY pointed us in the right direction, we found it!

I had my suspicions that it wasn't REALLY named after her, but I kept them to myself.

Finally, it was time to go, so I went to another scenic outlook.
What? The Akers are ALWAYS late!

Actually, it was right by the station anyway, but looking at the opposite side of the valley. Also, it was a cool picture with the birds.

I shot SO many birds.

Ok, so, that's the Orvieto trip. My next post will most likely be about Capri, unless I've forgotten another event in my life. We'll see. Oh, and yes, Mom, I made it to Capri!

Old Italian guys talking on a park bench: Priceless. Especially when I photoshop it to make it look 70 years old. Isn't that just an instantly classic picture?

Ciao!
--Hich

The great priority shift...

2007-04-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

And so, here I am. My roommates slumber, and I type away on my laptop to a gentle tune as a single tear falls down my cheek.

Actually, it's not a tear. I just dribbled my drink... into my eye.

Ok, my Italian oral final is tomorrow, and I've read through this thing I'm supposed to read to her twice. Twice is not enough, but I'm at the stage where I've stopped stressing. Or, maybe it's a form of stressing... I don't think so, though, because it's not unpleasant. It's... a gentle numbness. Also, I'm kind of tired. Through all of these things, I was inspired to hit the Blogspot situation. Be all like "Hey, this is my life... observe!" So, I shall set the coffee heating up, crank up the Journey, and tell you all a few things before I settle in with the book of Mormon... I mean, the Italian text book.

One moment, please.

There. So, where to begin? I know, I said I'd give you a series of short posts... well... it didn't happen. But you knew that. Yes, I simply don't have the motivation to tell you the things in my life. I say "motivation" as opposed to "time", because, in all reality, I waste most of my time here doing next to nothin'. So, without further adieau, let's shoot for... Easter.

On good Friday, I went to vespers at the Old Rite church with Rob, where we go every week... except it wasn't at the church, they re-located for the time to a different church a few blocks away. But no matter... anyway, we went to that place. It was quite cool, actually... they chanted the passion in Latin. ...Shoot, that WAS friday, right? It all sorta mixes together... much like I'm sure this semester will once I'm back in da States. Anyway, it was cool, 'cause the Priest wore black vestaments. Neat looking.

On Holy Saturday, we slept some, preparing ourselves for the long night ahead. At Game Time, we(Rob, Liz, and myself) went to the Easter Vigil.
It was quite cool, as always. I was disappointed that they turned the lights on so early in the Mass, considering we were each armed with a candle. Speaking of the candles...

So, Liz and I are in the back of the church, standing there with our candles. Well, about an hour and a half in, I happened to notice that her candle was getting rather small... she was starting to have trouble gripping it properly. So I offered a trade. I took the small candle, melted the bottom of it with MY candle, handed my big candle to Liz, and stuck the small candle onto my thumbnai where it stuck happily for another good ten or fifteen minutes. The thing was the size of a shirt button before I blew it out, and I only did THAT because I was afraid of it falling off my thumbnail and lighting a pew on fire, effectively ruining Mass for everyone and possibliy resulting in my excommunication on grounds of arson, or the like. So, to avoid arson, I blew it out... I was proud of my own ingenuity, though, and thought I'd toot my own horn(this being my blog, and thus allowing me to say whatever I bloddy-well like).

So, yeah, we had candles, but they turned the lights on. Too bad. Anyway, after a quality two and a half hour Mass, we left with some fella named Joe to wander around Rome a bit. THEN, at long last, we went back to Candia to Trena's party.

Trena had told us ahead of time that she was having an all-night party after vigil Mass, and everyone was invited... w00t! Also, everyone was bringing food.
I discovered, at this party, that apperently I make the best devilled eggs in all the land. Go me.
Rob and I stopped by the room briefly to unwind, and pick up our contributions. Our contributions included the devilled eggs and this:

OMYGOSH!!! I haven't talked about Orvieto yet!! Ok... crap... I'll just have to talk about it later. Stupid my life continuing without letting my blog have time to catch up! Before, I could sum up a month's worth of my life in a five-minute post... NOW I'm up to something every WEEK! *Sigh* Ok, yeah, next post will be Orvieto, though it comes earlier chronologically.

Right, so, our contributions for Easter were eggs and this bad boy:

*Heavenly choir*

This is just magically delicious Scotch that I hadn't had in a good, long while. I was pretty excited about cracking it open, as was Rob. See, we had plans of celebrating all of Easter week with that baby. They fell through. How? Because C-Dom surprised me with its ability to drink when faced with QUALITY alchohol. Soon as I cracked that open at the party (to which we were fashionably late, and notably missed... woo!), people were EVERYWHERE asked for a bit! Students, yes, but it was truly when I walked passed Mr. Akers and Alfonz that I took the biggest hit.
Mr. Akers: Hey Joe, what'cha got there?
Me: Chivas Regal.
And suddenly, though I didn't notice before hand they were holding cups, they were all handing out their cups like a gypsy holding his collection cup under my nose begging for a handout. Alfonz quipped that he hadn't had any in YEARS, and Mr. Akers was soon asking for seconds. Everyone liked it, to say the least... everyone that tried it, anyhow.

Me with Chivas Bottle, April 7th, 2007... R.I.P.

Chivas Regal

Advisor
Confident
Friend
You will be missed.

*sigh* He truly will. Oh, that reminds me, I need to get my dishes back from Trena... she still has my egg plate, and M&M bowl, and Chivas Bottle I hope.

So, yeah, I made it 'till about 6 AM... then I went back to the room "to get a coat" and promptly crashed in front of the computer for a half hour, during which time the sun rose, and I officially "lost" Easter. Oh, well.

Look at this picture that I took!

Rob is pimpin' the Chivas.

Ok, I should get to studying... I'm feeling the sleep creeping up on me. I still think of that childrens story about the town that thought Sleep was an invisible monster that attacked you when you least expected it. I wonder in recent times if they weren't far off... But that's neither here, nor there.

Wish me luck, and for cryin' out loud, pray for me!! PLEASE!!!

Ciao,
--Hich

And now, a word from our sponser...

2007-04-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

Who is me. I'M my own grandpa... I mean, sponser...

Two things. First, I just realized that my last post was #50!!! WOO!!! "And many more..." I feel ashamed that I didn't make any kind of fuss, but I feel equally enraged that none of you offered so much as a congratulations! You people disgust me! Why haven't you discussed me?!

...Is it 'cause you distrust me?

Ok, I've got to stop rhyming. I've been doing a lot of that lately... long story. What was my point? Ah, right, so that's point #1. #2 is the following:
So, instead of doing Italian for the past two hours like all of you are SURELY about to tell me I SHOULD'VE been, I was reading over my old posts, and I realized... my blog was a lot more entertaining back in the day, when A.) I didn't have pictures to post and ACTUAL THINGS to talk about, and B.) I hadn't technically told anyone about it. I dunno... I think my life is more interesting when I use my imaginations with it, instead of ACTUALLY talking about my day. Maybe my imagination's just broken since I came to Rome, what with there being things to do/study... I dunno. But this whole "more entertaining" thing is easily evidenced by the huge variety of commenters I had back then... keep in mind when you read the comments that most of those people I never hung out with, and some of them I didn't even know! This was back in the day when teachers read my blog! Could it be that it was more entertaining because I didn't spend entire posts complaining about my blog?!

Ohh.... crud.

Eww... I have a "blog". That's such a dorky, teen-ager thing to have. OOH! I know! If I'm right, and my blog was entertaining, but isn't anymore, I could present it as a TV show! That way, people can watch it, then talk about how "it's been going downhill since the end of sophomore year..." It's PERFECT!

Hmm... a blog TV show... ARG, FOCUS!
I STILL should be doing Italian... there's just so much of it that I don't wanna. Yup. Don't wanna. How's THAT for a mature attitude?

Ramble ramble. I continue to ramble.(and scarf down these Irish Whiskey-filled chocolates... only 1,55 Euro at Todis! Buy a package today!) ...If it WAS a TV show, could I pull off cliffhangers? Do people care enough to be pulled in...?

Man, I just can't get off this topic. Let's try again: Ok, after typing that, I just sat there and stared at the screen for five minutes. I think I should officially declare defeat before they take my blog away for good.

...Who's "they"?

Ok, it's almost 2. I gotta go do something. Good-BYE!
Ciao!
--Hich

Mini-post

2007-04-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, a lot has happened in recent times, and I've started to fall behind on my posting, so I'ma speed things up a bit.

On saturday, we went to the vatican museum, home of the Sistine chapel. It was a very nice museum, but at the time, my foot was still large and in charge, so it wasn't a pleasant experience all around. First, the Akers pulled the old "Leave at 6:15 for the museum but it won't open 'till 10 'cause we didn't get our facts straight" routine, which quite honestly gets me EVERY time... BUT, while we were in line, we saw a motorino accident. Guy was fine, but his scooter was on the recieving end of a low-speed SUV. It was strange... there was no damage to anything or anyone that I could tell, but he still left his scooter lying in the middle of the road for a good hour while waiting for the cops to show up. Had I been driving, I woulda run over the bloody thing, but that's just me. So, yeah, we were waiting in line.

Kak read Bridget a bedtime story. Bridget liked the pictures!!

Then we got inside, where camera were more or less outlawed, and the laws were more or less ignored. Mostly more. When we got in the Sistine Chapel, the "no photography" sin was illuminated by the flash of a thousand cameras per second... would you believe that wasn't the most ironic thing? The most ironic thing, in my opinion, was the booming loudspeaker that went off every five minutes asking people to be quiet.

Italy is very confusing sometimes.

Anyway, we wandered a bit for a while. Then we went outside, and I looked at this:

Rob and Kyle decided they want this in their back yards.

So, um... we wandered some more... I honestly didn't take many pictures. OH, I wanted to say something.

For every museum we've visited, or basilica, or whatever, as soon as we first enter the room, music would always play in my head. Y'know, that generic "English art museum" music? Dun dun dun DUH-NUH-NUHH, DUH-NUH-NUHH, nuh NUH nuh-nuh... Like that. Well, the second I walked into the Sistine Chapel and looked up, the music stopped. I've been playing that moment in my head over and over since we got here, but like in so many good things in life, it surpassed anything my imagination could conceive of. Being there, and seeing the work, was truly amazing... I think my favorite painting on the ceiling wasn't the creation of Adam, but the separation of light and darkness... very cool. Anyway, I won;t bore you guys with my new-found soft, emotional side... I try to repress it, but it comes out on this blog every now and again.

Then again, maybe I'm just losing it from staying up past 4 for 4 of the past 5 nights... it's been one of THOSE weeks. So, forgive my shortness, and strange attitude. Believe it or not, I'm actually planning on getting up at 5:30 tomorrow to go to the Holy Steps.

Hmm.... oh, for those of you that are no one that I've mentionned this to... did that makes sense?... anyway, I finally have the music I want to make little music videos of pictures and movie clips from our trip here, so I might get to work on that tomorrow, or much more likely, saturday... might be fun. Crud, I have another picture from outside the museum. I'll leave you guys with it. G'night... have a blessed Good Friday, and a rockin' Easter.

Pfft... I'd look impressive TOO if I took MY shirt off... and worked out regularly... and had a beard like that... and was a roman god, or whoever this dude is. Whatever.

Ciao!
--Hich

Catching up with myself...

2007-04-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

I believe I owe you all an explaination or two. You probably have some questions, like: "Why is the Pope bearing down on you?", or "Why did you jump off a cliff?", or (perhaps more importantly), "How did you survive?"

Well, my first response will be calm down, spazz. It's all good. If you take that attitude with me again, I'll never update again. Just sit back and let ol' Joe tell you aaalllllll about it.

So, we get up at an unholy hour... when was it... last wednesday? No, two wednesdays ago. Like, 5:30 AM or something. But that's the sorta sacrifice you have to make when you're going to SEE THE POPE!!! So, we got up bright and early (Liz earlier than all the rest... her discipline was rewarded with a sprained ankle.), and headed for St. Peters. And, believe it or not, we were the first ones in line, save for the crazy Pope-dancing lady, but... no one beats her...

The girls, at least, seemed to be in good spirits.

So, yeah. We waited outside St. Peter's square for quite a while, planning our attack. The plan was that, once they opened the main gate, we'd split into five groups, each running for the front of a metal-detector line. This would maximize efficiency in getting through, since you couldn't buy tickets for particular seats. Fortunately, Mr. Akers gave us the run-down for where to sit, how to get there, and how to ensure no one could get through us. So we were pretty set. I actually have a pretty funny video of Micah demonstrating our plan of attack, but I won't post it here. Anyway, part I went off without a hitch(though not without a Hich) - we got to the front of each metal detector! My favorite part was when crazy Pope-dancing lady's line had to be shut down, since their metal detector wasn't working, and she tried to push her way to the front of OUR line. Fortunately for ALL of us, Noah is a rock when it comes to holding a spot in line. He didn't even FLINCH when she jabbered at him in Italian, and probably threatened him.

My respect for Noah grew that day.

Anywhooo... so, we got through the metal detectors, faded right, found a hole, and BOOKED IT to the outside. We entered our isle, ran to the front row of seats, and with Zac guarding the end of the line, letting only Christendomites through, we filed in.

Mission accomplished. All students were secured in rows 1 and 2.

At that point, we could relax, as long as we held on to our seat. See, when the Pope entered, a lot of people were going to stand up and charge forward. Let 'em. If they don't have a seat up there, the guard's will remove them. So, after the Pope DID enter (See "Viva Papa!" video), he cruised around in his Popemobile for a bit before sitting down.

I'd love to see how that thing does in 4 wheel drive...

Once seated, they announced all the groups in the crowd that would like to welcome the Holy Father. Awesomely enough, we were one of those groups. So, over the loud speaker, they announced "Christendom College", then paused long enough for us to shout "AMAMUS TE!!!" At that, Benedict XVI grinned and gave us a little wave.

Has the Holy Father ever grinned and given YOU a little wave?! (Past semester students, don't answer that.)

Tim was in charge of synchronizing our shout, and he did a pretty good job, I gotta say. So, rock on.

Step 2: When the Pope finishes the Our Father, those in the front row(myself included) were to stand up, stand with a wide base, and cling a wide section of railing each. Meanwhile, those in the second row were to rise, move the chairs aside, and stand behind/between those of us on the railing. On the signal, those on the railing release with one hand and turn right, holding on to the railing with our left arm while allowing enough space between us to allow the second row to move in, holding the railing in the same fashion.

Like so. As you can see, we managed quite well.

And so, we were positioned. All our pieces were in place. All that was left was for the Pope to drive by, touching our hands. We even knew the route he would drive in, so our seats truly were perfect.

Well, as fate would have it, I did NOT get to touch his hand... I wonder if perhaps I didn't try as hard as I could have. Maybe he was just trying to touch the hands of the girls on either side of me, I'm not sure. In all honesty, I'm ok with it... just seeing him so close was enough for me.

Maybe he just senses Liz's injury, and appreciated her great leap more. I tell you what, she friggin' LAUNCHED at him, and got him! So, that's cool. Anyway, that was that day. I'll have to fill you guys in regarding Friday and Saturday later... I've got work to do.

Viva Papa!!!

Ciao,
--Hich

I leap to my death.

2007-04-01T17:37:00.001-07:00

Viva Papa!!!

2007-04-01T04:47:00.001-07:00

On the way back, pre-dinner... content.

2007-03-24T13:03:00.001-07:00

The Agenda for Day II

2007-03-24T12:20:00.001-07:00

EURO TRIP 2007!!! (Part II)

2007-03-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's see... When last we met, Frank and Chet were out trying to find me when
Chet was ambushed by a couple of goons that looked suspiciously like my Father's latest clients, and...

...Oh, sorry, wrong life.

ACTUALLY, when last we met, Megan, Liz, Rob, and I were on our way back to Rome after our first day on the road. The trip back, as I recall, was uneventful. We were all rather relaxed and content, enjoying the sights and so forth. Well, we DID make it back safely, save for one unfortunate turn we made. See, as we were leaving base, I decided (and the others agreed, what with me being behind the wheel and all :P) we should go to pompay. Actually, we had been discussing it earlier, but we feared it was too late in the day. Well, we went for it anyway. The directions we got, however, were a little hazy. Follow the signs to Naples, eh? Ok... so we followed the signs to Naples. Then we got to Naples, and strangely enough, the signs for Naples stopped.

Imagine that.

Naples, the city. Holy freakin' crap. What a horrifying place. All the stories you've heard are true. We stopped at ONE stop light, and already the decay of society was spraying my windshield with what could only be described as SmearGrease Plus™. Seriously, he did a terrible job. So why would I pay for it? As he looked at me expectantly, I rolled up the window, shrugged my shoulders, jabbered at him in English, and sped away. Rob and I needed only use two more words for the duration of our stay:

"CHEESE IT!!!"

After several trips in a circle around Naples, we realized we couldn't really leave the way we came. BUT, we DID find the way to the bridge outta there, and sped away.

NOW, as promised, Day 2.

Adgenda: San Giovanni Rotunda and St. Michael's cave.
When I woke up on sunday, I had some spare time to just chill, and decided to get a shot of all the massive amounts of food I purchased for everyone here:

MAN, people missed their peanut butter!! And this isn't even all of it.

So we all met outside at about 7:30 Sunday morning, ready to embark on our trip.

I think our very first turn was a wrong one.

A bad omen, yes, but fortunately for us, we're Catholic, and don't give a lick about omens. We proceeded on, undaunted. Riiight up until the moment the mountain swallowed us.

I thought it was the coolest thing in the world... there's the mountain, and there's the hole in the mountain.

I mean honestly, in the states, we just blast our way through. Just cleave right theough the damn mountain. I wonder which way is more difficult?
Now sure, the mountains looked cool from up close, and on the inside, but let me TRY to share with you some of the sights we saw on our way. With every turn we made, you never knew what we might see off in the distance.

This doesn'treally do it justice... like many things, you had to be there.

Megan was in charge of the camera... didn't she do a good job?

I mean, honestly, if I got a picture that good, you guy's would've yelled at me for not paying attention to the road. And you would be right to do so. There are, as always, more pictures of this stuff, but I'm trying to save room.

After more driving(not to make it seem like wasted time... did I mention I love roadtrips? And in good company, forget about it! :) ), we started to run out of gas, as cars tend to do. So, we got gas. I even pumped it myself! That's not a big deal usually, but I wasn't sure there WERE any self-service pumps around here... not that I saved much money doing it. Behold.

Can you say "Holy F'ing F!"?

Remember: 1 Euro = $1.40 US. That translates to a varitable bevy of money.
After running out of money, we hit the road again. We got to San Giavanni Rotunda and looked around a bit, had some lunch, etc. We were about a half-hour late for Mass, so we figured we'd just try to hit it at St. Michael's cave. But at least we figured out where to go, and everything. SO...
We hit the road once again to go find St. Michael's cave, figuring we'd have time afterwards to explore San Giovanni Rotunda a little better. Se we're drivin' along, drivin' along, going around some pretty cool mountains and valleys. Well, as we were driving through one particularly nice-looking meadow, Liz off-handedly commented that the meadow was filling her with an urge to go running through it barefooted.

Me: "OKAY!"

So I pulled over immediately, thankful that there was a shoulder RIGHT THERE on the side of the road, but nowhere else. So, we got out. Liz didn't get her frolick, since, upon closer inspection, the meadow was rather filthy. But we all just kinda relaxed for a while... Megan found some mushy almonds in the field, and for some reason, we ate them. I think we were really tired and hungry, and kinda confused. Anyway, I haven't died yet, so I guess we're ok. As we were piling back into the car, I took a shot:

They LOOK happy, but they were actually screaming at me to get the hell back in the car.

So, I did. We got to St. Michael's cave, which was actually pretty cool... went to Mass, and all. Have you ever heard of St. Michael's cave? Apperently, he appeared there... not sure why. But they've since turned it into a basilica. VERY cool place to go to church... it's still a cave, after all. And they even have marked exactly where he stood (Megan and Rob got to see it... Liz and I hesitated, and missed out.). But at least the view outside the church was nice:

St. Michael has good taste!

Ok, fast forward a bit, since I want that keilbasa Rob's cooking up right now. We went back to San Giovanni Rotunda, where Padre Pio is buried. Not really buried, actually... his tomb was right there. This was the place where he died, of course. They preserved most of it since the time he was there... they have his cell, and everything. Everything from the room where he was attacked by the devil, to where he slept everynight, to the room he died in. It's all covered in plexi-glass, o'course. But in the more museum-y parts, they had the crucifix he received the stigmata from, all his relics, the vestments he offered his last Mass in, and the confessional where he would spend 18 hours a day:

I found his tomb amazing, though... we've been to so many tombs, of so many famous people. Various artists, poets, authors, saints... but they're all just been in the sides of churches, and people would snap shots, just to say there were there.
But at the tomb of Padre Pio, there was a wall of glass surrounding the tomb, and outside the glass was surrounded by kneelers. And they were FULL!
I think the whole time, there wasn't a free space on the kneelers. Everyone was kneeling reverently before the tomb, and if you couldn't kneel on the kneeler, you knelt on the marble. It didn't matter. And inside the glass were flowers, money, and pictures of people asking for prayers. I think, in all of Italy thus far, it was the single most reverent room I've seen yet. The man died 50 years ago, but looking at his tomb, you'd think it was yesterday.

ANYWAY...
Oh, before I forget - we WERE going to try to go to Lanciano, but we were too late leaving, and figured it was closed. Lanciano is the location of a Eucharistic miracle, where apperently the Priest had doubt in his heart regarding to Transubstantiation during Mass, and so after he said the words of Consecration, the Host became actual heart tissue, and the wine became actual blood.
Take THAT, doubting priest-guy.
Point of note - apperently our Lord's blood type was AB. According to Rob, that's the most common middle-eastern blood type, so it kinda fits. Anyway, we passed right by it, but didn't get a chance to stop in, so that was kinda sad... oh, well.
So eventually, we hit the road (I'll post a video of the trip back after this post), and looked for somewhere to get some food. We found it. Liz insisted on buying dinner, and we grudgingly accepted.
"OK, Liz, I GUESS you can buy dinner... geez..."
During dinner, the girls started asking if I was EVER going to teach them to drive stick(this is something I've been saying I'd do ever since we booked the car). Well, it IS late... I'd like to get back...
The girls turn to one another: "Liz, why doesn't he want to teach us to drive manuel?" "I dunno, but it makes me sad."

*SIGH*

So we headed out to the empty parking lot, and got to work. Liz went first, and after a couple of rocky starts(it's so weird to NOT be the one making the car stall for once), she got the hang of it pretty well. Then it was Megan's turn. She did really well, but she also cheated - turns out it's a lot like driving a motorcycle, which she does a lot of. So that was fun. I thought it was pretty funny how they both marveled at putting the car in reverse - the stick is weird here, you have to pull a lever to put it in reverse, and they couldn't figure it out while I was in the commisary the previous day. ANYWAY, Megan asked if she could try it on the freeway. Sure, why not?

Oh.... that's why.

Heh, no, I'm just kidding - she did fine. She was pretty confident, too, which is usually the biggest problem. Fortunately, driving on the freeway is actually easier than driving in a parking lot anyway. Once I was sure she wouldn't kill us all, I started flashing lights in her face, just to test her:

And she STILL didn't crash!

Yeah, she did really well... after about an hour, I asked Liz if she'd like to try the freeway. Why yes, yes she did. So after we got Megan to ease off the gas pedal:

AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

...we stopped, and made the switch(and bought more gas). Liz got goin' flawlessly, and we were off once more. As before, once she was sure of herself, I started flashing lights in her face:

She seems pretty calm and collected to ME...

And so, we sped on back to Rome. I DID eventually take the wheel back, 'cause I was starting to get jealous. I still reserved complaining rights at driving the whole time, but I DID actually enjoy it like no other. In fact...

Thank you, Rob, Megan, and Liz, for that weekend. I think it's been the most memorable experience since I've come to Rome. Freakin' amazing.

Ciao,
--Hich

EURO TRIP 2007!!! (Part I)

2007-03-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

I just thought these would be the best way to start my post.

Oh. My. GOSH!!! So much has happened since last I posted(including the massive failure of the internet as a way to keep people together), I'm not even sure what to do here. I think I'll forgo mentioning anything that happened up until last weekend, especially since I don't remember any of it anyway.

WELL...

As most of you know, I was planning on going to Naples on the weekend of the 18th. Rob and I, that is. We wanted to go to the Naval base to pick up some american food. Well, considering how difficult it is to GET american food, we decided to take orders from people who miss their precious peanut butter, and the like. And since Rob and I, with our military IDs, were the only ones who could get INTO the Commisary, we just thought it'd be nice. So, we did.

Wow. People REALLY miss their peanut butter.

I got about a page and a half in my notebook of people's food requests. Well, on top of this, Liz and Megan knew what we were planning, and started remembering all the cool places in South Italy people can go. So, we decided to make it a four-person trip. Well, with all the extra stops we were now making, a train ride would really be prudent, so what do we do?

You know it, baby. We rented a car.

Turns out that number A: I'm one of few people who has bvoth a driver's liscence AND a credit(debit) card, and B: I'm THE only one who can drive stick. So, I found a relatively cheap car rental place, and we booked it.

Adgenda set: Saturday, St. Patrick's day - Go to the church of St. Philomena, then to the Naval base. So at 7 AM (or so), we all got up, met outside, packed a breakfast/lunch (ok, the GIRL'S packed a breakfast/lunch, Rob contributed some stuff, and I brought nothing), and set off for the car rental place. (see the first picture). Finding that place ALONE was an adventure, I think we brought "roundabout" to a WHOLE new level, which was an interesting omen for our trip, but we got there, picked up our rip-roarin' Fiat Panda, and hit the road.

DAMN I love roadtrips.

I don't know what it is about 'em. Maybe it's the listening to music, or random conversations you pick up... maybe it's just hangin' out with friends, but I do love 'em. I've had a taste for roadtrips ever since my first one, when Alyssa and I travelled across several states. Fortunately, we didn't have to stay at a creepy hotel in this instance. ANYway, so, yeah. I drove. In Italy.

Scary? Yes.
Nerve-wracking? You bet.
Fun? Oh HELL YEAH.

There are absolutely no rules on the road in Italy. If there ISN'T a car at some particular spot on the asphault, it's your for the taking. Pick a bearing, and GO. If you can squeeze between the semi and the scooter, DO IT. It was a little terrifying at first, but VERY easy to get used to. Oh, I'm sorry, I lied... there's one rule: no passing on the right. This, coupled with the fact that there are no OTHER rules, means that you DAMN well better not block the left lane, 'cause they'll get pissed at you pretty quick. 140 KPH is nowhere near fast enough for it. And don't ask me what IS, 'cause I never, on the whole trip, saw a speed limit sign. All I know is the left lane goes a good 60 KPH faster than the right.

But through it all, I'd say there's no feeling quite like driving free, on the open road, on a beautiful countryside with gorgeous mountains, on a bright, sunny day. It's near indescribable. The freedom of just DRIVING again, not riding a bus or metro, was enough, but this place does have some pretty amazing shots. Allow me to demonstrate with the next post... on this, the first day, I was still kinda getting used to driving here, and wasn't quite ready to take pictures while driving.

But you shouldn't have to wait long for that.

So, about 3 hours later, we got to St. Philomena's. I had personally never heard of her, and apperently neither had the Catholic church until the 1800's sometime, when they discovered her tomb. But that was enough... her tomb told much of the story. She died several deaths before being martyred, that's for sure. Here's her church:

Very nice, with quality people inside!

Neat little side chapel, with a model of her which (I think) contained her remains.

I wandered outside for a bit, but then Rob called me back in - it seems the priest was willing to break out some relics for us to venerate... it goes back to the same problem MANY churches in Italy have - I think we were the first visiters to that church in a LONG TIME who prayed AS WELL AS took pictures. Sad stuff, but it was pretty neat for us. Then, we went outside, and I snapped a shot:

My posse. (as always, more pictures of the PEOPLE of the trip, as opposed to the sights, can be seen on facebook.)

So then, it was off to Naples. Fortunately, we didn't have very far to go. We arrive at the Naval base, talk to some sailors, who spoke english with an AMERICAN ACCENT(!!!), got the girl's some day passes, and went on in.

I'm not sure exactly how to describe THAT feeling either, that is, being back on American soil, but needless to say, after we parked, Rob and I fell to our knees. Well, we went to the Exchange, which had picnic benches outside... the girls broke out their packed food, but Rob and I had heard too many stories of what they have on base to let it go.

We opened the door, and a heavenly choir sang out "KFC... A&W Root Beer... Taco Bell..."!

I made a bee-line(Where does that expression come from? Do bees fly all THAT straight? I guess straighter than most flies... huh...) for Taco Bell, of course... someone had put it in my head last week, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Rob went for the A&W.

You all have no idea how beautiful this was to me after being away from it for so long. And yes, that's a grilled stufft burrito. And yes, they made it right. *sigh*

The girls SAID they were ok with their packed lunch... but they needed nachos. EVERYONE needed nachos. And look, see how happy they are?

Anyway, after that, it was back to Rome... I'm currently working on posting a video I took on the ride back, but it's fighting me, so I'll probably post that tomorrow, along with PART II of Euro Trip 2007.

'Till then!

Ciao,
--Hich

Relaxing on the road

2007-03-21T12:54:00.001-07:00

Juggling all my various online-updating-service-things.

2007-03-10T05:43:00.000-08:00

Oi... and I thought I was giving in when I signed up for BlogSpot.

Now I've given in to Facebook peer pressure. Hence why there's been a lack of updates here... I've been maintaining the facebook things. Now I have to post ALL these friggin' pictures TWICE! But, I'll do my best, to keep you all happy. See, for those of you that can see BOTH of my online-update-things, you should still read both. On facebook, I'll post MORE pictures, but LESS story behind them, whereas HERE, you get the background of the pictures, and better live vicariously through me!! So, don't abandon me here! NEED ME!!!!!

ANYway, I suppose I owe you some aforementioned pictures. Where have I been lately? Ahh, yes....

So first, about a week ago, Carissa Gubash turned 21(woo!!). Woo!! Heap good times! So, to celebrate, a bunch of us went to the Abbey Theatre. I love the Abbey Theatre...

Oh Rob, you can't be stopped. Always with the beer... that I make you pose with... Rock on, brother!

A man with two beers envies NO MAN.

I don't think Emily knew Micah was there... Kinda creepy. All the girls loved thier Harp!!

Then, we went to St. Agnes outside the walls... pretty cool story there, with Constantine building a church to St. Agnes 'cause his daughter had a big devotion to her. Here's a picture of what's left of the original church:

Gotta hand it to him, Constantine keeps up a fine-lookin' lawn!

So then, for a long time, nothing happened. Then, yesterday, we all went to the Subiaco!! That, for you less informed folks, like myself, is where St. Benedict went to live in a cave for three years. So, maintaining the caves, some benedictines build a church and stuff around it. Gotta say, it was a pretty sweet view.

The view from one of the ledges. I took a few pictures from there - won't post them all, of course, but here's one, aaannnndddd...

Here's the other - I jerry-rigged a panarama view... I think it came out pretty well.

So those were the mountains. Once you get into the church area (There were several buildings... it was quite the cool place), there was the church, the actual cave, and so forth... I took some pictures, but again, I won't post 'em all. It'd spoil some surprise, or another. The cool thing, though, is in the courtyard. Apperently...

Up THERE, on top of the cliff above the courtyard, there used to be a gigantic rock balanced percariously on the ledge. Of course, the benedictines were always wary about it, fearing it would someday fall and destroy thier noble community. Lacking the technology to safely remove it, they built instead a statue of St. Benedict holding his hand out, defying the rock. They put it in the courtyard, asking St. Benedict to protect thier church and courtyard. Well, apperently, it worked. The rock never fell for hundreds of years, until they finally had TNT, or a crane, or something, to safely remove the rock.

The translation under the statue says: "Stop, O rock, do not harm my sons."

And so, it didn't.

So we wondered a bit more, and found another ledge. There was much, much picture taking going on then, and I got in on the action.

Colleen gave Emily a flower. Awww. And the mountains are cool, too!

So, that's all I have at the moment. I'll post more on Facebook, but it'll just be pictures of people I know, so those of you that DON'T know the people I know, you aren't missing anything.

Allright friends, 'till next time!

Ciao,
--Hich

Ugh, you people and your demands!!

2007-02-27T07:22:00.000-08:00

Man... here I am, all set to relax after a long day of classes, and wouldn't you know it? The internet has to be working. Now, you think I'd be happy about this. But working internet means respond to ALL the people who wanna hear about ALL my days... *sigh*. It is SO DIFFICULT being popular!! But, I endure. For you, the reader, I endure.

Virtue is, after all, its own reward.

So, here I am, back from Assisi/Florence/Siena. Leah, this post is about to look suspiciously like the e-mail I just sent you, but THIS will have pictures! Yes, this post will be all about...
SPRING TRIP 2007

7... 7.... 7....

That, uh... that was supposed to be an echo... I think the effect is lost in typing. ANYway.

So, we get to Assisi, right? That was fine, whatever, we did stuff. The GREAT part was the bar that was ten feet away. It was wonderful. Plus, the waitress kept pouring me shots of rum, for some reason. That's ok, though, it was good rum. Anyway, the seconde to the last night we were there, the Akers asked the bar owners to keep it open extra late, just for us. THAT was grand... everyone was there, being all chummy, even though a lot of us don't normally hang out.

Silly, silly girls, with thier alchohol.

Oh, Rob and Kyle. Just oh.

After that, I realized that I didn't have much time to take pictures of Assisi proper, so the last evening I ran outside with my camera and took a few pics.

Alleys = cool

The town of Assisi, if nothing else, is pretty F'in beautiful.

"Hey, what's that castle doing up there?" "Oh well, fire cameras!!"

Then, after that, it was off to Florence! That was about a two hour bus ride. Some people don't like bus rides. I, however, thrive on them. Thus, I bugged people with my camera. A lot. I won't post a bunch from that.

Anna's coolness just flows out from her, drowning the rest of us.

Zach and John forced the bus driver to stop, just so they could pick flowers for the girls.

Florence was pretty, blah blah blah.

It didn't take us long to find a bar in Florence. Not long at all.

That's right, God Bless the Drinkers.

Then we went to Siena. THAT place was sweet! I've posted too many pictures already, so I'll go through this fast. We had an AWESOME hotel with a pretty sweet bar in it. Yes, more bar-age. Then we went to the museums... they were depressing. Why? Because they were *supposed* to be churches. Instead, they were either churches that were full of tourists, or museums full of the church's belongings(Relics, chalices... it was absolutely disgusting). Like it or not, however, they did have some beautiful church belongings. So, we wandered for a while.

Imagine my surprise when we went to the museum where Han Solo is on display!

Outside, it was awesome too. The campo was cool - like a beach, but without sand or water.

*cough* Yeah.

I have better shots of it than this, but I've made my choice.

So blah blah blah, yadda yadda it was time to leave. But, we had one detour to make...

Apperently, the original story of the Sword in the Stone came from Italy. St. Galgano was a crusader in his day, but one day he decided that he wanted to be a monk. So he promised his servitude to God through prayer, not battle, and went to break his sword upon a rock. However, when he struck at the rock, the sword entered! It has remained in that stone to this very day, and the legend goes that anyone who attempted to pull the sword from that stone would have his arms ripped off. In fact, they DID have a couple of arms dating back to that time period which were found by the sword... ripped off by wolves, or some such. Ouch. Anyway, here it is:

Yeah, TRY it, Aurthur.

Here's everyone, with a few exceptions, myself included.

On the bus ride back, we all got food. I got gummy-cokes!

Ahh... that was refreshing.

So, there you have it. Sorry for the load of pictures, unless that's what you wanted, in which case, you're welcome! Ok, I'ma let Rob use the 'net for a bit. I owe it to him, after posting so many this-is-Rob-drinking pictures. It IS tradition, after all.

Miss you fools!! Peace out!

Ciao,
--Hich

I am the Roman, I am the Roman, coo-coo-cachu.

2007-02-13T16:30:00.000-08:00

*Sigghhhhhhhh*

I am tired beyond all belief. I have been up WAY too late the past few nights. Would you believe I still got to bed before 3 AM? It's new, improved me! I get to bed earlier, but I don't feel any more rested for it.

Wait... that doesn't sound improved at all.

I was up 'till about 2:30 just chillin' on sunday night. Last night, I was up late studying. Yes, studying. You heard me. Studying.

...Studying.

What? I don't lose face for this! I wouldn't have been up late studying if I had done my homework earlier, when I should have!! So there. Anyway, I was up late tonight, just talking to people, and planning things for tomorrow, I guess. Someone's doing something... I wasn't really paying attention 'till they said "Guys should bring alchohol." What I heard was "You've been drafted." Mmmm.... cold draft beer.
FOCUS!
Anyway, so, yeah... tired. BUT, I have pictures, so without further aideau, which is French, I present you with pictures! I skipped pictures of the Roman forum because I'm trying to give you my most interesting, if not glamorous, pictures, and keep it short. Yes, the Roman forum is boring after a while. Deal with it.

This first set of pictures is just a fault of mine... I can't begin to describe how amazing this church was. And the pictures don't do it a LICK of justice - I was feeling rather shaky that day. It's all the crack-cocain here in Rome... gets to a person.

They had so many chandeliers...

And it was just... just so COOL looking...

That I couldn't stop! Still, be thankful, I took WAY more pictures than these of the place!

Hmm... I thought I had more pictures than these... oh well, at least you don't know what you're missing! 'Sides, you'll see 'm all eventually. Check these.

This was... uh... like, some temple... or something... I dunno. Faustinius and Antonius' temple? Maybe?

So THEN, we stopped by some building.... what was it called?

Oh yeah, THE ROMAN COLUSEUM!!!! Ever HEARD OF IT?!

If you can believe it, I've been less impressed by this than most places... it's been turned into a bit of a tourist attraction, whereas everything else is untouched history. Does that make sense?

Still... doesn't change what it is. Pretty amazing.

OK, just a few more sceneic shots for those of you out there who have seen it all before. I need to start taking pictures of people, I know, but I don't wanna seem like I'm playing favorites.

Temple of Saturn, biotch! You KNOW he woulda laid the smite down on anyone who didn't recognise! ...that is, he would have, had he existed...

He's a better shot of St. Peter's square.

Wait, this isn't a blog! It's a depository of my pictures! What's going on lately? We're going to assissi on thursday, which means no updates for another while. I'm kinda angry, too - they're making us pack up EVERYTHING. And I just went grocery shopping! So I've been eating like mad. That, and... drinking.

Translation: Strongest light beer in the world. At 12% alchohol, it BETTER be. I've found a new favorite beer!

Oh, did I tell you guys I didn't make it to the super bowl?! Or rather, didn't get to watch? I went with a buncha people to the scholars lounge, and the Abby theater, and both were PACKED!!! We couldn't get in! So we were dejected and reject, so we stumbled into the Shamrock, a quaint little place with no TV, which meant no people. We drank ourselves happy again (Kyle was upset at first, but I don't care.... he gets REALLY funny when he's been drinking. Oh. My. Gosh.), and stumbled back to the hotel at about 2:30 AM.
Oh, before I forget - beware bus 87. There's always a really smelly guy sitting at the back. Same guy, same bus, same stench. Creepy.

Anyway, Rob, Liz, Megan and I were sick of local food, so we left for the Hard Rock Cafe recently.

Go Rob... Go Rob... Go Rob...
(Just kidding Joe, Jane, and Ed... they didn't drink THAT much. In fact, I drank WELL more than any of them with my hurricane, which I took a picture of but chose not to post.)

So, after that, and more photo-ing, we wondered the streets. And lemme tell ya something... this City puts on a hell of a show at night.

Yeah. Pretty amazing.

Maybe, MAYBE, I'll post tomorrow and tell you all what I've ACTUALLY been up to. Sorry, I don't multi-task. Either you get the regular me-report, or you get pictures. And a picture is worth a thousand words. I'm not THAT word wealthy, leave me alone!
In case you're wondering, it's the Jameson whiskey talking right now. No, I'm not an alchoholic. I ALWAYS drink on Tuesday nights.

...That... didn't help my argument, did it?

Alright, I'm done here. I just have a couple of peolpe I need to contact, then It's bedtime for bonzo. Weird to think it's only 7 o'clock for you saps in Virginia (6 for you, sweetheart). Well, anyway, g'night friends. And for crying out loud, if you stop by, comment! I'm not here for you! I wanna hear about how great I am!

Ciao,
Hich

Covering the second day of Romage...

2007-02-08T03:35:00.000-08:00

At least, I THINK it was the second day. Or the third. Anyway, I'm POSITIVE it wasn't the thirty-forth, so... there ya go.

First day of touring. There ya go.

It all started with the flight to Rome. It was long, but not too terrible. After all, I had my laptop for a couple of hours, so I watched Final Sacrifice. Good times. We landed in Paris and got very, VERY lost. That place is WRETCHED!! You know they don't even speak English there?! Idiots... even I can speak English. Anyway, we flew out from Paris for Rome. I started dozing on the plan, but then just happened to glance a window, getting a look at this:

I don't know if you guys have ever heard of the SWISS ALPS, but yeah... holy CRAP! Anyway, I took more pictures than those I'm showing you, but I'm trying to keep it short. So, the tours eventually started. The first day involved seeing the four major basilicas. First stop, St. Mary Major.

And we even went inside!

What I DIDN'T take a picture of was the giftshop, where I bought a holy bottle opener, or "Popener", as John Archer called it. Ha!! It's swell.

In case your wondering yet, no, I didn't take many pictures of actual PEOPLE. I will, if y'all want. And I have somewhere between zero and one pictures of myself. Anyway, next stop was St. John Lataran.

That's a long way up!

I know, I'm going fast, but I gotta go to lunch... I'll post more if you guys want. And speaking of lunch, after those two, we had to stop for lunch.

Rob sure was thirsty after all that walking!

Next stop was St. Paul outside the walls. Check out his statue:

Looks like he's ready to do some damage with that sword! I dodged, however.

All these ceilings, by the way - AMAZING!! I took video, just to show the whole thing... it's just crazy. You'll see eventually.

Last stop was St. Peter's. You might recognise this. I can take better pictures later, since we PASS THIS PLACE EVERY DAY ON OUR WAY TO CLASS!!!!

Beware the pigeons.

After all that, we were ready for our first dinner at this restaurant where we usually eat. Good food, but they tend to take a while.

Kyle was ready for dinner after all that, and was NOT enjoying the wait!

Ok guys, sorry - I gotta go again. Pray the internet stays up, and I'll post more later!!

Ciao,
Hich

As per your request, please find enclosed... Rome.

2007-02-04T06:50:00.000-08:00

And so, it begins.

Spring is apon us, ladies and gents, and brings with it warmer days, flowers, a young man's fancy turning to love, and... oh yeah... ROME!!! Yes, we've finally arrived, and learned much. Oh, not from classes, rest assured - they start tomorrow. No, I've learned a lot about walking until your feet fall off. I've learned a lot about what it means when a hotel says "Free wi-fi internet in rooms!". It means "There's some kinda signal floating around here, but hell if WE know what it is or how to work it!"
Hence why I've just walked a couple of blocks from my warm bed to an internet cafe to pay 2 euro an hour to post for you people. Of course, none of this would be a problem, but for one thing... I can't post pictures!!! I had a whole story planned out with my pictures, and now I can't share them!! It's very... VERY frustrating. I think, to ease my pain, I'll walk to some random bar and drink my sorrows away. And why?

Because I CAN.

That is, actually, the plan tonight. They only feed us monday - thursday, but give us 50 euro a week to pay for food the other days. All I can say to that is, thank GOODNESS for bank cards!!!

So, I will hold off telling y'all about how I've been spending my time, and instead give some insight as to the atmosphere.

1. Meals.
I will admit they are an improvement over Christendom food. Before you yell at me, Rand, they're feeding us at a different place than they were last semester. They start with a bitter salad, and at the risk of this turning into an editorial, WHERE is the ranch dressing in Italy?! Honestly, people, there's nothing wrong with a little FLAVOR in your healthy food!!!
Anyway, once you get past that, you get the main course, which of course changes from day to day. We're eating at a restaurant, so I guess it's the chef's special. So far, we've seen pasta and pizza... Oh, don't worry. Not Christendom pizza. GOOD pizza. CRUNCHY pizza. WHOLE pizzas! It makes my stomache smile... somehow...
THEN they serve desert. And I think they actually have it every night!! First, we had tiramisu, or however it's spelled. It's that coffee-rum-chococake thing. Anyway, it's swell. The next day we had chocolate moose, which was a little gamey.

*Pause for laughter*

Right, well, anyway, they also give us wine. It's pretty good... I'm not complaining, it's free. Only sometimes do I miss my suicides..
Did I just lose any of you? A suicide is a mix of all the sodas at a particular fountain.

2. Accomodations.
I believe I've already explained about my internet troubles... Power is a bit of a nuisance too, since the power converter I brought is supposedly just powerful enough to turn on a hair drier. I plugged my surge protector into it, and all the lights in my room turned off. And I smelled electricity.

...

Not to be outdone by a piss-ant plug, I tried again. With similar results.
After watching electricity shoot through the surge protector, I moped. A lot. Then, realizing that having a laptop without being able to use it is worse than having no laptop at all. So I closed my eyes, crossed my fingers, and went to plug in my computer directly.
I missed, so then I opened my eyes and tried again.

SUCCESS!!!!!

And so, I have my computer, which means I can store all my pictures and keep my camera charged. So yes, I HAVE pictures, just no way to SHOW you yet. They say they're working on getting the internet back up, but... well... we'll see.

As for the rooms themselves, they're pretty nice. Like a smaller Guardian Angel. All the beds are in one room, with closets, dressers, and desks. Then we have a bathroom with a shower just big enough for me to fit in without moving my arms at ALL. It makes things difficult somewhat, but I'll live. We also get a dining room and full kitchenette. And a mini-fridge! You could fit a whole six pack of be... soda in there! Which brings me to my next chapter...

3. Alchohol.
Ah... what can be said? I already told you about wine at meals... but believe it or not, that makes the provided meals LESS desirable. Why? Because I could go to the pizzeria down the street and get myself a beer! I already found the greatest beer in the world (Not just because it's 12% alchohol by volume, but because it's called "Du Demon"), and have many more to choose from! Like the former chapter, pictures can tell you much more on this subject, and will, once this option is available.

But this, like many good things, must be waited for. So, sit tight, my American friends! I'll be in touch!!

Ciao,
Hich

P.S. Crap... do I "Salva come bozza", or "Pubblica post"? I would think I should pubblica post, but I seem to recall the BLUE button on the left being the one to press... OK, I'm trying it. If my post is deleted, I may scream. Here's hoping.

A post.

2007-01-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, I just made a big long post about how great my new computer is, and bragged about it. Then it messed up, and I lost the post.

I lost the post, but the irony wasn't lost on me. I'm humble guy now.

Piece of s*** laptop.

Anywho, Christmas was cool, Wisconsin was cool(ok, freaking amazing), and visiting Christendom just now was cool(ok, that's a vile and odious lie. I have nothing but contempt for all of you and all you represent).

Ok, I've lost my train of thought. I'm out of here.

Ciao, fools.
--Hich

Just... posting.

2007-01-17T19:37:00.000-08:00

And why? Why not? After all, I DO have a NEW FREAKING LAPTOP COMPUTER!!! Be jealous. BE JEALOUS!!! ENVY ME!

EEENNNNVVVVYYYYYYY MMMEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Ahh*... SO glad I can finally rub that in all y'all's faces. It was worth the wait. Anyway, sorry (I guess) for the super-ultra-mega delay. Between being busy ever since Christmas, and just not caring, I never got around to it. Once I got through finals (gay) and my last papers (gay), I went home(not gay). I scrounged up some pseudo Christmas presents for my bro and girlfriend, and did the Christmas thing. I mean, kinda. We didn't exchange presents. Since too much of my family ran off and decided to get married, they wanted to celebrate Christmas with their "new" families. What is UP with that?! Why wouldn't they want to spend time with me?! EVERYONE wants to spend time with me!

*sigh*

ANYWAY. So after that, I flew to Wisconsin, where I promptly received the kickass Dolphins scarf my girlfriend made me. I keep wearing it, and today I used it with a hoodie to look like a sort of ninja. It was pretty freakin' cool. Correction: I was pretty freakin' cool. Still am, too.

Ok, enough patting myself on the back. You all can start in anytime.

Oh, and I just got back from Christendom. I visited. But you all knew that. 'Cept axl. Oh, by the way, Trish - pick a day. I work pretty often nights, but I get a couple days off a week.

Ok, everyone. Discuss.
Ciao!
--Hich

Barely making my monthly post...

2006-11-30T16:24:00.000-08:00

I got skills like that.

So, first, an update to my last post. I spread out all my music among four, count 'em... FOUR different folders. For those who want it all, check my folder, Ben's folder, Andrea's folder, and Ziggy(A.k.a. 80's Freshman, a.k.a. Luke)'s folder. Or, just use the computer in the far corner of the computer lab - there's a Joe's 80's music playlist.

SO, moving on to bigger and better things. All the Rome people have gotten/are getting back. Sounds like they had a... time. Seems like they either loved it or hated it. Makes me wonder if it's always that way, and if so, which category I'll fall into. But then I remember that I don't care. Hoo-ray!
This, of course, is all assuming I'm doing better in all my classes than I think. As far as I can tell, I've got a pretty good C going in all my classes except for Theology. This translates to my GPA being BELOW 2.0, which equals no Rome. Maybe I should be writing the paper I'm putting off right now, after all... but then again, maybe not.

DEFINITELY maybe not.

On the other hand, which now the third hand or so, I was threatened with my life if I don't go to Rome. Something about slitting my throat while I sleep, or something, I dunno... I've received so many death threats I just kinda tune them out at this point.

I have nothing but contempt for all the people around me.

That may or may not be true, but mostly it was just to piss off the people who are reading over my shoulder. Suckers.

Other things... it seems I'm getting a laptop for Christmas. W00t!!! There's something I'm excited about. I've needed a computer since I started not having a computer, which was some time last year. I will do nothing in Rome but play City of Heroes. I'm such a cool dork.

Enjoying the weather... it's all "warm before the storm"y... kinda nice. I hate being cooped up inside, but if I go outside, then I have to face up to where I am. Oh sweet internet, take me away!

Done. I'll try to post more often, but if I don't, maybe I'll post from Rome.

Ciao-
--Hich.

Oh, and P.S. go to youtube.com, and look up "beer ape". It's just swell. That's the song that's running through my head.

Save my music!!!

2006-10-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

I just got the greatest feeling... it's like I DO make a difference in this world. *tear*.

...Or at least, on this campus.

See, last year I had all the 80s music videos on my F drive, right? Well, that's ten CDs of music videos. Quite a bit. So during the Great Emptying of '06, they were all deleted. I was prepared for this, and put them all back on within about a week or so. Well, a second time they were deleted, this time with a "Cease and Desist" notice from Dane. (I don't know how to spell desist.) Fine, no more videos. Instead, I got a load of music from A-Jay and uploaded all THAT. That's been fun; it keeps me from losing my mind while writing papers, and the like. People love seeing me dancin' along to Bohemian Rhapsody, or whatever I might be listening to at that point.

*Deep inhale*

I just got a notice in my mailbox: They've put a 100 MB limit on all F drive folders. As it turns out, 5 hours of 80s music equals about 350 MB. Herein lies the issue. I don't WANNA delete it all, and I don't WANNA choose. Immediately after voicing my problem, I've already gotten 4 offers to spill my music off into thier folders as well, keeping the music and keeping us all under 100 MB. I love these people sometimes. Call it a victory, not for me, not for the computer lab or F drive, but for the 80s in general. Call it a victory for music. A victory against Cuddleback's music bans from dances. A victory against the Christendom bubble.
Ok, I've finished.

I'm a little loopy. It's 6:45 PM, I've got a paper and a test tomorrow, and I've worked on neither. Am I freaking out? Not as much as I was on Monday and Tuesday. Hell, I'm downright RELAXED at this point. In 24 hours, I will be officially on Fall break AND playing poker. Who could ask for anything more? Ok, granted, I could be going to Wisconsin as opposed to home, but I just need to be patient in that respect. It'll happen. But one thing at a time. I'll see you soon enough, sweetheart.

How's Rome, Rome students? Good? Bad? Ok, cool, cool. Glad to hear it. NO... WAY...! You are KIDDING me! I won't believe it until I see it.
YOU shut up, don't start with me. No, shut UP I said!

Ok, the guys are going outside to smoke, and I'm going to follow them like the sheep that I am because, let's face it, I have no will of my out.

Ciao.
--Hich

Give a little respect... to.... ME!!!!

2006-09-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

And then, posting happened.

Oi, what a week. I expected to relax... then I didn't. On friday, did the usual thing, then went to river. Always fun, of course. Then Mike Mruk, Chris Pelczar and I went back to Guardian Angel (I refuse to refer to it as Cardinal Newman) to watch The Godfather. We got about an hour in and I crashed. I was OUT. So we gave up.
On saturday, I was just on my way to Brunch when I saw a moving van outside. Turns out Eric and Ryan were moving. So, I figured I'd stop by and help them move. No skin of my back... or nose... or however that saying goes. Didn't mean to rhyme that, by the way. Anyway, so I helped them move until about 2:30. THEN Eric invited me to go with 'em for dinner and stuff. I suspect he actually just wanted help UNpacking, but I was young and naive, so I agreed. And off we went. Their place is pretty nice, actually. So I helped them unpack, and Eric and I went to KFC for dinner.

We bought $31 of KFC for just the two of us. That was a legendary dinner, the thing of children's stories. It was MOST excellent. I think I'm still full from it.

So then we played video games for about an hour until I came back, just in time for Ben's Bash!! That was fun, as always. And by fun(at Christendom), I of course mean they had food. ...I'm sorry, did I imply I had FINISHED eating after $31 of KFC? Silly, silly reader, do you not know me at all? So yeah, ate their candy, then played ping pong and listened to music until curfew or so.

Sunday rolls around. 8 AM Mass, then Kings Dominion. THAT was awesome, especially since Tony Klosterman and I ditched the rest and made round around the park. See, I've been there a good 15 times or so, so I know what rides to hit where, when. While everyone else was wandering aimlessly, we were on an ordered schedule, resulting in us hitting every good ride, including the Drop Zone 5 times.

Yeah, Tony was slightly obsessed. Poor kid.

It may have been all these factors leading to my incessant tirededness all week(and my sleeping through my first two classes yesterday). Hard to say, though.

So I got my two papers back this week... I've decided I strive for mediocrity. I haven't been doing ANY homework for ANY subject(short of papers, obviously), and it's starting to catch up with me. Even my notes are terrible in all but two classes. I never did the reading for either of my papers, which may be why they were C and C+, respectively. Even so, I'm pleasantly surprised they were ranked as "average" and "average plus". I certainly didn't put forth an average effort, so lucky me.

Tell me, audience: Should I buckle down?

That's all for today.
Ciao,
-Hich

P.S. I put a world of 80's music on the F drive. Call it in protest, since they refused to play "Don't Stop Believin'" at the last dance.
DID I TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THAT?!
A certain someone refused to play it, on the grounds that it was "lyrically inappropriate".
...Words... cannot describe.... must control... fist of death...
I'm going to have a word with someone about it, though. Ok, peace out y'all.

Man... so popular...

2006-08-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

...So... I'm being watched by Big Brother, it seems.

Actually, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, which I spelled wrong, but it DOES turn out that I have a lot more readers than I realized. Of course, I've only learned of two people that I didn't know about before, but still -- I never expected ANYONE to read this blog, so you see my point.

...You? Who's "you", anyhow? I may not even know. I'm told a lot of people read this. I'm just cool like that.

So, how to entertain my newfound audience? Hard to say. Personally, I find my life rather boring, but it seems to have struck YOUR fancy, so I shall continue.

My Livejournal covers most of the big stuff (Andrea's wedding, other weddings... what else have I done this year?), so I'll just quickly re-iterate: Her wedding was totally rockin', what with the cake that looked like a tree stump. Oh, don't get me wrong, it INTENTIONALLY looked like a tree stump. An appetizing tree stump. Anyway, good 80s music, as well as some stuff I seem to recall having to leave the room for, but that's OK. 'Twas her wedding, not mine. I guess I'm just lucky the priest didn't accidentally say MY name.

You read correctly. "Do you, Andrea, take Michael...?" "No, no I don't. I take DANIEL."
Or something like that. I was too busy chortling.

So, uh, yeah. I'm back in Hades, Virginia, to continue my studies. Christendom, and all. How's that going for me? Well, I just discovered I dripped honey mustard on my pants from dinner 5 hours ago and it's not in a very nice spot. How do YOU think it's going?!

Have an 8:30 class tomorrow, along with a world of homework I'm supposed to be doing right now. Honestly,I'd rather just be in Wisconsin with Leah m'dear, watching House and the like. And drinking "Tilt", whatever that is. Sounds like something I would enjoy. I love Leah, she loves me, and we would both love Tilt. That would be, as New World Order put it, a bizarre love triangle.

...Every time I see you fallin', I get down on my knees and pray...

Of course, I think my time would be better spent actually CATCHING you, rather than asking for Divine Intervention, but ok..

Where am I going with this? What am I DOING?! I don't even know. But YOU, gentle reader, YOU know what you want. And YOU want to go do something useful. So.... BYE.

Ciao,
--Hich

French must die.

2006-07-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

That is my basic mood right now... you see, I have to leave for french class in 2 1/2 hours, but I still have a bunch of homework to do. Hence my sitting around on the computer right now.

...Right.

This class will surely be the death of me. My only hope is that I can study for the tests and pass THEM, because I have no idea what the teacher is saying in each class. I just sit there and space out, occasionally turning to what I hope is the appropriate page in the text book. I have been to TWO classes thus far, and now I'm not only feeling the cold grip of despair, I have an EXAM ON MONDAY!! I mean come ON. Have I actually LEARNED anything yet? That's an interesting question. Guess I'll find out.

If I can ever get my mind off of french for two seconds, I also have many Best Man duties to deal with. Did anyone else know that I'm in charge of transportation from the wedding? How about that I'm supposed to make sure everyone gets their tuxeodos and I'm the one that has to return them? Yes? No? Not to mention the speeches. I've got a basic idea in my head, but I still haven't been able to write it down. Why not take this time right now to write it down? Because my priorities are simply ghastly.

Moving right along... and feeling fancy-free... Heh, yeah right.

On the plus side... uhh... (Insert something good here.) OH, Leah's coming to Andrea's wedding after all! So I at least have something to look forward to. *cough*BESIDES Andrea's wedding itself, of course. But, y'know, it's a good development, and there've been few of those as of late. I'm glad I'll get to see her one last time before school starts again, since that's where all the uncertainty starts. NO idea when I'll get to see her after that. Then there's the whole Rome thing...ugh. But I'm living-in-the-present guy. Hoo-ray!

I'll finish up with a quote from "House" that makes me smile.
"Right and wrong do exist. Just because you don't know what the right answer is — maybe there's even no way you could know what the right answer is — doesn't make your answer right or even okay. It's much simpler than that. It's just plain wrong."

Title of June 20, 2006 post

2006-06-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

Instead of continuing conversations from previous posts, I'm going to pretend like that whole little argument never happened. I won't even mention it.
...Except there. And there.

... And there.

Right, so, anyway, how's everyone's summer going? Or is it summers? I pretty sure there's only one a year, right? Right. Anyway, mine's going well. I'm just finishing up the first "semester" of French for the summer. The second semester will be taken online. I figure the less actual speaking necessary, the better. Other than that, I'm working at Papa John's most of the time. I know, I know, delivering pizzas is so cliche for a teenager job, but it's good money, so who am I to argue?

I may have already mentioned this, but I have to go to FOUR WEDDINGS THIS YEAR!!! I shouldn't say "have to"... they'll all be fun.
Wave 1: Lauren's wedding.
Occuring July 4th. This one I wasn't formally invited to. Well then, why am I going, one might ask hisself? Because the bride-to-be called me up one night, asking if flying out of BWI on the 2nd and flying back in on the 6th would work for me, since she already has the tickets all set up and ready to be bought.
Uh.... ok.
Apperently she's flying me out, paying for the tickets and everything. I am, as it turns out, a gift to be given. Probably not re-gifted, though. I'm no longer in mint condition.
Anyway, this'll be fun, since I get to see my girlfriend for 4 days, as well as camp in the bride's backyard with Ben and Rand singing river songs.

Wave 2: Trish's wedding.
...Oh, crap. I'm supposed to send that invitation back so I can actually go. Right, well, assuming I get on THAT, this will be occuring July 25th. This one should also be good times - I expect to dance to "absolutely fabulous" at the reception.

Wave 3: Andrea's wedding.
Is it weird that I'm calling all of these by the bride's name? It's the guy's wedding too, y'know. Anyway, this shouldn't need much explaination. Occuring on August 5th, this will be insane. I'm the best man, so you KNOW I'll hook it up. Or fail miserably. Either way, it'll be a day to remember.
Oh yeah, and I'm happy for Andrea and Daniel as well. :)
Much dancing and celebration, and all of that jazz. It'll be that much better if Leah can magically fly out here for it, but we'll see.

Wave 4: Marjorie(my other sister)'s wedding.
Not too much info on this one, yet. All I know is it's occuring sometime in November. It better not be on my birthday, though: That's MY day.

I think that's all. My brain is empty, all of your's are full, and the universe is once again in balance.

Ciao.
-Hich

But everyone ELSE is doing it, why can't I post a survey?!

2006-05-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

Ugh. I feel filthy posting a survey here. This was supposed to be MY blog, my secret blog in which I complained about other people behind their back!! But no, now I must please my audience. Enjoy.

*Nosy Questions*
You Come First!
what's ur name?:	The Hich.
what r nicknames people call u by?:	Oh, uh... that WAS it. Ok, fine, Joe.
how old are you?:	19.
how old do you act?:	11 and 21, depending on the day.
where do u live?:	A land far, far away.
where do u wish u lived?:	Wisconsin.
Family Comes Second!
do u have siblings?:	Yes.
if yes, how many?:	4.
which is your favorite?:	A bag of starving wolverines.
do u get along with ur parents?:	Yes.
Admit it, youd have no life without ur parents.:	Uhh... o..k...
Did you admit it?:	What's WRONG with you?
Friends Come Third!
how many friends do u have?:	Sometimes, I think I have none.
do u love them all equally?:	HAIL no.
which one do u usually go to for advice first?:	Depends what I need.... either Leah, Andrea, or Ben.
which do u usually call first to hang out?:	They're all MILES away... USually, Leah.
which do u find urself disagreeing with the most?:	People that aren't my friends. They suck!
do u feel u need more friends?:	No.
Music!
what genre of music do u jam to?:	Punk, mostly.
what's ur favorite band(s):	Punk ones.
who's ur favorite singer(s):	Lead singers of Punk bands.
what kind of music do u hate most?:	Classical country, if it exists.
what kind of instrument would u love to play?:	Air drums.
Do u know someone who can seriously kill a good song?:	Yes.
who's that person and what are they to you? (lol):	My roommate, Paul.
Clothes!
out of 100%, how much do u love clothes?:	0%. Down with pants!!
how many jeans do you own?:	Two.
how many shirts do you own?:	Many.
how many shoes?:	6.
do u prefer brandnames, or nonbrand names?:	Uhh... pass.
what are ur favorite stores?:	Goodwill.
would u ever bust 500 on nothing BUT clothes?:	Yes. But I assume we're talking pennies.
your crazy if you said yes:	Yeah, well, at least I can spell "you're".
What do u think about...
the president:	I try not to.
gay/bi marriages:	...How can you have a bi marriage? Eww, though.
religion:	The good one is good, the bad ones are bad.
school:	It's lame, except when my girlfriend is there.
career:	Specify: WHO'S career?
SUVs:	Soccermoms.
me:	You make weird surveys.
Can u live without...
a radio (music)?:	I do, unfortunately. I still have music videos, though.
alcohol?:	No.
a car?:	I do, unfortunately.
ur parents?:	I sorta do at college, but then, they pay for that, so...
electricity?:	I LOVE camping!
a computer?:	Again... I do... but I mooch off others, so that works out.
ur friends?:	For the trillionth time, during the summer, I DO.
Do you suffer from...
insomnia?:	It's late at night, everyone else is in bed, and I'm taking this damn survey. So no.
ADD?:	Of course I don-- OOH, a peice of candy!
ADHD?:	...What's the difference? No.
odd obsession over Italians?:	Their food is quality, but they're too hairy.
Take this survey Find more surveys You've been totally Bzoink*d

...Still feel filthy...

GASP! Bad words!

2006-05-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

The title is for all those scared of such things. You may want to turn away now.

This is an article from "The Onion", and it just hit so close to home that I HAD to post it. YOU all know what I'm talking about. ;)

Guy In Philosophy Class Needs To Shut The Fuck Up

September 28, 2005 Issue 41•39

HANOVER, NH—According to students enrolled in professor Michael Rosenthal's Philosophy 101 course at Dartmouth College, that guy, Darrin Floen, the one who sits at the back of the class and acts like he's Aristotle, seriously needs to shut the fuck up.

Floen is known to make his insufferable comments during class at Thornton Hall.

His fellow students describe Floen's frequent comments as eager, interested, and incredibly annoying.

"He thinks he knows about philosophy," freshman Duane Herring said. "But I hate his voice, and I hate the way he only half raises his hand, like he's so laid back. We're discussing ethics in a couple weeks, but I don't know if I can wait that long before deciding if it's morally wrong to pound his face in."

"Today he was going on and on about how Plato's cave shadows themselves represent the ideal foundation of Western philosophical thought," said freshman Julia Wald moments after class let out Monday. "I have no idea what Plato's ideal reality is, but I bet it doesn't include know-it-all little shits."

Wald added: "If he uses the word 'dialectical' one more time, I'm going to shove my copy of The Republic down his throat."

Although he demonstrated a familiarity with Peter Singer's view on famine relief during a discussion of John Locke's theory of property, Floen is reportedly unfamiliar with the theory of cramming it for a change and giving someone else a chance to speak.

"Just last week Professor Rosenthal was talking about Russell's Paradox, and that jackass starts going off: 'But what about Heraclitus' aphorism: Everything flows, nothing stands still?'" classmate James Luers said. "At first I was like, 'That's totally irrelevant,' but then I was like, 'Well, actually, it does apply to the nonstop flapping of your trap.'"

Among the 40 students who regularly attend Philosophy 101, the one who has endured the most suffering is freshman William Deekes.

"Some people know Darrin as just 'that guy in philosophy class who needs to shut the hell up,'" Deekes said. "I, however, also know him as 'the douche in African history who seriously needs to chill' and 'the a-hole in environmental sciences who could really use a girlfriend.'"

"I enrolled in this course because I was fascinated by the question of God," said sophomore Miriam Blank. "After spending six hours a week in the same room as that unbearable windbag, I think I have my answer. Life is as long as it is cruel."

The outspoken student has not gone unremarked by the course's professor.

"Mr. Floen is a valuable contributor to our in-class discussions," Rosenthal said. "His tendency to question and challenge everything before him captures the very essence of philosophy itself."

Rosenthal added: "Having said that, I do wish he would occasionally do me the valued service of shutting his damn cake hole."

*Sigh*... man, that makes me happy. Anyway, that's about the size of my update. I have yet to get anything done, but soon... very soon...

Blorg.

2006-05-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

More or less, that's how I feel. Blorg. Isn't that a great word? It's so expressive.

So, uh.... yeah. Summer. How about that? It's kind of odd to be home again, and I have yet to figure out if that's a GOOD odd. I suppose it's a "I don't have homework(yet) but I haven't unpacked either and basically I lied around doing nothing all day" sort of odd. Right now you all want to accuse me of being a loser, but you KNOW you did the same thing. It's relaxing and exhausting, leaving that blasted college. And I only left for the summer. Not, y'know, a lifetime.

BLORG. What am I trying to say? OK, I'm officially annoyed at my mom's computer. Specifically, her keyboard. The buttons are VERY sticky and it's hard to type properly. Hell, this post might end up not according to Turabian!! Heaven forbid, right?

Moving along, I just signed up for summer french classes. I must hate myself... stupid french. I get to spend the summer waking up IN THE MORNING!!! NNOOOO!!!!!!!! I didn't even know the summer HAD a morning! WHAT ELSE HAVEN'T YOU TOLD ME?!? So anyway, enjoy your sleep, y'all... you're lucky to have it.

I suppose at some point I have to report for active duty. Uhh, to Papa John's, that is. Yup, we all love money. Just not acquiring it. That's why I told my dad to get to work. After all, if I'm ever going to be rich and infamous, it's pretty obvious that my only hope is inheriting it. I'm too lazy to work any harder than just barely enough to keep myself alive. That is, until being alive is too difficult. Then I'll fade away.
Like all jedi.

...punch and pie.

What is the point of this post? I guess just to let everyone know I'm still alive. Of course, after reading this malarky, I think you'll be less convinced than ever, but whatev. Anyway, to anyone I didn't get a chance to say "bye" to(and those I care about enough to say bye TWICE to), farewell. I do hope you guys(say, why isn't it "guies"?) have a rock, rock on summer. I may not miss the place, but I daresay I might miss the people. So all of you out there, be back next year. I DEMAND IT!!! Oh, and if I don't see you before you leave, have a GREAT time in Rome. That way, at the end of the year when you're bragging about how much fun you had, I can crush you by telling you about the BETTER time that I had. So burn, you cocky SOBs.

Ciao.
--Hich

...Blorg.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...

2006-04-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

I take a look at my wife, and realize she's very plain. Oh, wait. No... yes.... no... oops.

Well, anydangway, that's not important. While I was at Stations today, I finally (and don't be mistaken, I HAVE been trying to figure this out for a while) discovered what I want my last words to be. Or, at least, what I want on my tombstone.

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me, uttering slanders against me, my adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall.
Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
Psalms 27, 1-3.

I just think that's really freakin' cool. If I don't remember it at my death, maybe I can still recite it before the superbowl, at least. Then the other team will be all "Whoa."
So, yeah, just thought y'all should know that. So, right, forget that it's 4 AM, it's back to work for me! I can go to bed once I reach page 5. Enjoy Easter, peeps!

I'll pour a 40 on the curb for all my homies that can't be with me.
Ciao.
-Hich

Break, is it? Sometimes I wonder...

2006-04-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am.

That's pretty much been the mood since I got back yesterday evening. Here I am. I didn't even start on my Schwartz paper until tonight, and that's feeling somewhat unmotivated. And why? Partially 'cause, I mean, who wants to write a 15 page paper? Honestly, though, this "break" feels less like a break than any other. I just kinda lie around. There's no one to hang out with(Save A-Jay, but she spends much of her time preparing for her marriage. That's right, A-Jay, I resent you! You and your "husband to be". You losers are leaving me in the dust! Dirt-bags. Heh, nah, I'm just kiddin'.. I'm psyched about the whole thing, but you can't blame me for being a little sad about it.), nowhere to go, and nothing to do! I'm not even working this break because of this damn paper. Meanwhile, Leah and the campus-staying-on-people are partying it up in Front Royal. Well, have fun while you can, fools. I'll be back soon enough.

I got a haircut. It's very short. Yeah.

At least I DID finally start my paper. I almost have a paragraph. So, y'know, I've got that goin' for me. No, I'm not looking for pity, I realize I did this to myself. I procrastinate, it's what I do. Though, maybe I'd procrastinate less if a certain someone didn't egg me on, keeping me up 'till all hours of the night so that I sleep in. Curse you.

I'm getting confirmed finally. Easter vigil, won't that be fun? Last time I went to one o' those, I got back at like 3:30 AM. Yikes. Bah, but I don't care. I mean, it's worth it, right? Sacraments are quality, after all.

Cat. I'm a kitty cat. And I dance, dance, dance, and I dance, dance, dance.

WHAT AM I DOING?! GET BACK TO THE PAPER, JOE!!! HOW DID JOHN RYAN FIGHT THE NAZIS?! Uh, I mean, introduce Catholic Social teachings to american culture...?

Right, well, back to work. Ciao.
-Hich

A broken week.

2006-03-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

That title's depressing. In reality, I'm pleased.

I mean, why shouldn't I be? It's spring break, I'm home, my sister's getting married, I'm the best man. It's all good. I should probably pick up some shifts this week(blarg), but y'know... cash is good too. AND, in about two minutes, I'm gonna go watch some SNL and eat anything I can find, which isn't much. So, yeah.

I don't even know why I'm posting. I'm kinda bored... I haven't been bored in the sense of "I have nothing to do" in a while. Sure, I've been procrastinating bored, but who hasn't? This bored right here... it's a quality bored. A bored for the ages. I can only hope, for your sake, that you all out there are bored too.

Nothing about school... nothing about school.... I say "nothing about school" because I refuse to mention about the Place Who's Name Must Not Be Spoken. YOU know the one I mean. So... something else... I went to a bar today. And you know what I did there? I had the chicken tenders. They weren't bad, but there's something depressing about going to a bar and having... chicken tenders. I mean really, people need beer when they go to a bar, they just... DO! *Le sigh*.

...Did I just sigh in french?

CRAP!!! I have to sign up for French classes over summer some time this break. THAT'LL be fun. Of course, my guess is it'll be a cake walk, so I'm not to worried about it, it's just who wants to take classes over a break? Nobody, that's who.
Allright, I wasn't being fair. The chicken tenders actually were pretty good... they had this BBQ dipping sauce and everything. They came with a pickle quarter, but I didn't eat the pickle quarter.... not in the mood, I suppose.

ARG, I'm missing SNL. A'ight, that's all for now, folks. Lemme know how y'all's breaks are going!!

MAN, I wish I had some chicken tenders!
Ciao.
--Hich

Mid-terms week a la mode.

2006-03-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

I guess that would be mid-terms week, but with like... whipped cream, or... ice cream on top... or something.

I'm trying to figure out if I'm stressed about mid-terms, but I only have two, and considering that J-Ski changed his to be slightly more bearable, I think I'm OK. Finals might be a little harsh, but who cares? That's years away. Literally.

Years.

I've come to the conclusion that I have one too many sisters looking over my shoulder. Just the other day, A-Jay told me that Trish had expressed concern over my eating habits, which seems a weird thing to be concerned about, since I've NEVER eaten well. Like, ever. Maybe I'm packing on an extra few pounds, I honestly don't pay attention. Then, later that day, Trish told me that A-Jay is worried about my study habits. Which is also weird, because I've NEVER studied all that much. I guess that's more noticible because instead of procrastinating by doing a variety of things, I'm procrastinating by playing poker. There's really no difference in the amount of studying I'm doing, though. Honestly, there isn't.
Besides, this whole semester is a joke so far. I have four papers total, and so far, two of them have been 600-800 words. Last semester, it might have been an issue, but they're kind of taking it easy on us sophomores this semester. So what's the deal? Do they have nothing to worry about for themselves, so they worry about me? I'm not complaining(much), it's nice that they care and all, but stop with the guilt trips and all that, they aren't helping.

I'm rather angry, I would LOVE to live off campus next semester, and the perfect place was up for rent, but by the time I actually asked some of the guys if they would be interested, and much to my surprise, they jumped at the idea, the place was taken off the market. It would all work out, too, because Paul is going to Rome in the fall, I'm going in the spring, and Rand and Joey aren't going at all, so there would be at least 3 guys to hold down the fort the whole time. I feel like an idiot for not looking into it sooner, but oh well... I SHOULD keep my eyes open still, but the problem is that it would pretty much have to be on Shannendoah Shores, considering that 3 of us lack a car. Hmm... difficulties.

What else, then? I'm in a movie, which is actually turning out to be rather fun. Trying to come up with things to say in a movie in which there is no dialogue, but my mouth has to keep moving, is more difficult than I would have thought. In one scene, I acted like I was breaking up with the Miami Dolphins. In another, I told Claire (Gail) that I wished dragons would burn down her city. Unfortunately for that one, I couldn't keep a straight face for two seconds, so I suppose watch out for that in the bloopers reel. Y'know, it's called a "movie" because it's a "move-y". That's why, when they started hooking microphones up to actors, they called it a "talkie." So next time you're talking about the movies, think about them as move-ies. 'Cause people move in them. Guarenteed, you'll laugh to yourself and say "Heh, that Joe is one silly punk."

People love America. Whassup with that?

Someone is visiting this week!! WOOOOO!!!! A good friend of mine from freshman year. But she won't tell me when, she says she'll "surprise" us. That doesn't work for me, though, 'cause you never know when I might "accidentally" sleep through class. Oh well, we'll see.

Hmm... I'm... hungry..... right, so, talk at you later.

Ciao.
-Hich

Van-Halen-Tine's Day.

2006-02-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

The title of this post pertains to nothing - I just thought it was funny and clever. Like me. I'm funny and clever.

Well, I finally got that work crew taken care of. Take it from me, ladies and others: NEVER get a work crew. That SUCKED!! Aside from the waking up at 6 A.M. (Actually, I woke up at 5. I prayed that I would wake up in time for work crew, and as a practical joke, God woke me up an hour early. I suppose I deserved it. :) ), I had to walk around in the supreme cold for TWO HOURS picking up cigarette butts. It was snowing, too, so we had to search through the snow. My hands smell of old cigarettes, and I don't know that they'll ever stop. On the other hand, KC and I came up with the early morning garbage gnomes song. That was fun. What else am I doing?

It is snowing like CRAZY right now. It's not quite cold enough to be sticking well enough, but it's starting to, so rock on. Looks cool, anyway. Maybe I can cream Susie upside the head with a slushball.

I actually hate Valentine's day around here. Yeah, it's the day for couples, so what do they do? They SEPERATE THE GIRLS FROM THE GUYS WITH A WALL AT DINNER!!! I mean, come ON!! I mean come on, I don't even have a GIRLFRIEND and that pisses me off! And why? So that those around that DON'T have girlfriends/boyfriends won't feel lonely. Are you kiddin' me? It's VALENTINE'S DAY! Hell, all the lonely people can comfort eachother or something. This college makes me sick. Oh, oh, and this whole poem thing. Do the girls love our generic peotry THAT MUCH? I've been demended to write a poem, but don't they realize mine will be a complete joke? I'm not going to write something sappy. Does it make the girls that much happier to get what is essentially a take on "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue..."? Fine, here's my wretched poem. Give it to the loneliest, prettiest girl you can find:

Roses are red,
Violets are violet,
I sure wish I was
and F-18 pilot.

Then I would fire
a sidewinder missile,
and blow up this college,
to a big smoking pile.

And then I would stand,
on the rubble of St. Joe's,
I'd light a cigar,
in memory of you shmoes.

I hate writing poems.
I think they're quite gay.
But nevertheless,
Happy Valentine's day.

Oh, gee, it was rejected. Well, I tried.
-Hich

War were declared.

2006-01-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

I had no qualms with the former administration of the Commonwealth of Guardian Angel, but his was an administration of waiting. Mine is one of action. And when such henious deeds as the public attack and attempted humiliation on one of our very own council members present themselves, they will not be let off kindly. We shall return fire to our enemies quickly and effectively. Such return fire will not take place, of course, until the official signing and presenting of the declaration of war. However, plans for these attacks are already under way. Once started, this war will not end until one of the two parties involved either:
(a) surrenders, and agrees to the conditions thereupon, or
(b) is completely wiped out.

The aforementioned conditions to surrender will be decided upon and presented at a later date.

Don't you want me baby? Don't you want me, ohhh...

2006-01-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

Good news, everyone!! I've stopped with the seemingly-endless self-pity! Yeah, I'm totally past that. Like, total man.

Ahh, back in the swing of things. Pretty cool to be back among friends(and/or enemies, as the case may be). I actually LIKE my teachers, if you can believe it, so even my 5-hour class days aren't too bad. This isn't what's keeping me happy, however... are you ready for this?

THE RIVER IS BACK!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Not only that, but the weather is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! It's as though the sky is apologising for all the friday rains we had last semester. Maybe God loves me? I suppose ANTHING is possible. I issue a challenge to all of you: NOTHING could ruin this day for me. Go ahead, try it. I dare you.

I won poker the other night! Made a cool $90. Of course, that was after I bought in the 3rd time. I almost didn't do it, too. But I could NOT let that kid make off with my money. That's right, despite popular belief, I DO have some pride. For now, anyway.

Lessee... other tidbits... I told you about my roommate situation, right? Well, you probably know about it anyway. Yeah, it was pretty gay, BUT! I got my own room 0ut of the deal. Who could be unhappy about that? It's a different world, having your own room. Up doing my homework, listening to music as late as I want. Of course, I have to put on headphones once the girls next door start complaining about how loud it is through the paper-thin walls, but that doesn't really bug me. My headphones are comfy. Comfy? Is that a word? Well, it is now. I'm comfy with it.

Give a little respeeect... tooooooo MEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

I think that'll do for now, pig... that'll do... Oh, also, I now have a re-chargable battery and a memory card for my digital camera(one half-hour of video starage space), so I can FINALLY put it to some good use! Score. Whelp, think it's about time for me to be hittin' the old, dusty trail..... can't get out the way.....*beeeeep beeeeeep* OOPS, found the fire door!

(Peace out, y'all.)

The last straw.

2006-01-14T14:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it just wouldn't be Christendom without one last ounce of bad news before I get back. It seems I've been replaced. Removed. Terminated. I know not on what grounds they decide to kick me out of my own room, but the point is that's what they're doing. It wasn't Greg, he's moving as well - into my spot. I'm being pushed over to the other side to replace Ben, and JJ (I don't know how to spell his name, but knowing Paul, I'm sure you can guess who's moving in) is moving into Greg's room. Now, either Paul took a leaf out of D's book and went crying to Wurtz about how he doesn't want me anymore, or Wurtz is simply hitting the crack pipe too often. How can they just kick me out? All my stuff is there, and I REALLY don't feel like moving it all Sunday night. Guess I'll have to, if I intend on sleeping that particular night.
So seriously, in it's full meaning and all that it encompasses, WTF?! What have I done to offend thee, oh annoying fates of college?! If there's an empty spot, MOVE THE NEWCOMER INTO THERE!!! Don't destroy the whole damn puzzle because one piece is missing!!
I need to get my hands back on my stabbin' knife.

Oh, and uh... blah blah Virginia weather blah 60 yesterday, snowing today, blah, insanity. There.

See yuh on the other side, peeps.

The future.

2006-01-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

So, my dad has been sitting down with me lately and talking about my plans for the future. He keep bringing up and suggesting the coast guard, whether enlisted or as an officer. He even went so far as to say they'd accept a two-year degree. To be honest, this completely blew me away. I don't know if I'm not maturing as quickly as most people, or if he is trying to get me to mature faster than usual, but my light at the end of the tunnel is graduation, that's IT. Yes, I want to do all 4 years at Christendom. No, I HAVEN'T thought about my life's career. I've got two things on my mind: staying at college, and keeping money in my pocket while I'm there. I don't expect to be delivering pizzas for the rest of my life, it's just what I'm doing now to get some cash. So why the pressure? He proceeded to tell me all about myself, my strengths and so forth, and how they would fit the coast guard. I'm really not considering it, but it's not because I don't want to join - the issue is that I'm not considering ANYTHING right now. Maybe that's shortsighted of me, I honestly don't know, but it seems ridiculous to be talking about it not even halfway through my college career. I guess he just wants to make sure my life goes somewhere. I'd like that, too.

By the by, all questions here are for myself to ponder, don't feel obligated to answer them. In fact, this whole BLOG was made as a deposit for my thoughts, not a way to keep in contact with people. I never even mentioned it to anyone; it was discovered and linked to by a friend of mine. So none of this is a cry for help, or asking for attention... it's just somewhere to get crap off my chest. If this blog annoys you in some way, don't tell me about it, just don't read it anymore.

...and the days following.

2006-01-08T23:28:00.000-08:00

Well, the past few days... or weeks.... have smoothed out. All is known, and relatively well. I got my grades in, and despite my own popular belief, I did NOT fail history. I think Dr. Schwartz is filled with more mercy than his test implied. Nevertheless, I'm quite pleased with the way my grades went. I think, finally, I am resigned to the fact that I'll be back... there... within a week. It's not that I don't want to see you all, I DO... I just don't want to face the circumstances that seeing you implies. i.e. Being back... there...
See, if it was you guys visiting, that'd be OK. But it's not.. oh well...

And now, the disputed question of the month: how the HELL am I going to face the coming semester? My best friend has left the college, I'm not on speaking terms with two of my other "friends", and my sister is now living off campus. It didn't feel like I was living so far away from campus last semester because I brought campus WITH me. Now? I don't know.. I get the feeling I'll spend more time on campus this coming semester than I EVER have... that is, unless I can get a ride to my sister's house any time I want. I'm being selfish, I realize - I'm making it seem like I have no other friends. This isn't even close to the case. I have more friends on that campus than I had for 17 years of my life combined. I know they'll be there to hang out, study, maybe even play a game of raquetball every now and again... But they have other people to entertain and grace their presence with! What do I want? I'm not even sure... maybe I just want to stay home.
Here's my fear: That I become yet another victim of the college, a recluse that is more of a memory than a presence that spends all my time holed up somewhere with my homework, finding nothing more important in my life than grades. On paper, that's simply ridiculous; everyone knows that I couldn't care less about grades, as long as it's above F. A pass is a pass is a pass, and all the other letters are just that: letters. A part of some abstract judgement system to tell you if you're better than someone else. Granted, everyone feels good when they improve, but you CAN'T STRESS OVER IT!! It's pointless! *sigh*... Now I've written way too much, and I need to get some sleep. But at least studying is something to do, I suppose.

Ugh... I think I've made myself sick.

In lighter news, I smell like pizza.
Wait, that's not news at all.
I've become loopy. With all that BS off my chest, I have nothing left to dwell on. With nothing left to devour, my brain has begun digesting itself, turning in upon itself like a black hole, which is EXACTLY what my brain is after LAST semester.

Pay no attention to this post, friends. It's unimportant, and kind of ranty.
Yours utterly,
The Hich

Secrets and lies!! It's always secrets and lies...

2006-01-06T00:34:00.000-08:00

So help me, if ONE MORE PERSON entrusts me with a really freakin' important secret, I'm going to explode. Seriously, am I that easy to talk to? Am I that trusting? Or does no one believe anything I say, so they can tell me anything?! WHAT IS IT?!?! From now on, I want to be the last to learn anything new. Ok? Is that ok with you all? Because that would just be fan-freakin'-tastic for me. *sigh* I need to get out of this conversation quick. I need sleep. Oh, great, yeah, call me at 3:45 A.M. ...oi.

2 posts within 15 minutes of eachother, in order to feature: THE TOP TEN!!

2005-12-31T00:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the double-post, but I caught this after posting the first time, and I had to do this myself. I won't go through the whole survey - I don't have enough personality for that. So, without further adieu, here is Hich's:
TOP TEN (In no particular order)
5. What countries did you visit? America, but only briefly. Then I had to go back to Christendom.

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005? A car. And a girlfriend. And more money. And a pony.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? The other night, I walked into my sword and stabbed myself... through my pants. I don't know if that's more physical or emotional injury, but there you go. Maybe it's mental illness.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Without a doubt, the Ultimate Ninja. That thing is freakin' AWESOME!! Unfortunately, it was a gift for someone else.

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? You know who you are.

13. Where did most of your money go? China Jade. China Wok is closing in fast over break, though.

21. What was your favorite TV program? Futurama... Oh, and Scrubs... OH, and Buffy, o'course. Oh, and before you all judge my morals - Bite me, they're good shows.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery? Oh man, this is an easy one. Phantom of the Operah played really loud at 8 AM, over and over. That just NEVER gets old. Especially when played on a piano that needs to be tuned? Sends shivers down my spine.

34. Who did you miss? You can't miss friends until you have them. It isn't as bad a feeling as people think. Who? My next door neighbor, and the Christendom gang, respectively.

35. Who was the best new person you met? That girl that bought me the sword... I mean c'mon, that's just quality right there.

Good deeds and foul deeds.

2005-12-30T23:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I just completed my good deed for the week or so. Actually, it was last night, but I didn't want to post then. So take it now, or never. Here's how it all went down:

It started when I made a delivery to a house with a $18.89 tab. Some girl answered and gave me one bill and took the pizza. I thought to myself "Anh, $1 tip, whatever", but as I started to walk away, she asked for change. Give me a break, here!! As I pulled the bill out of my pocket, I looked down and saw that it was a $50. Oh, yeah, I guess she can have change. BUT, as I was driving back to the store, I wondered to myself if she hadn't stopped me, if I had left the house before realizing she gave me an extra $30, would I have gone back to give her change? Well, evidently, the good Lord was thinking the same thing, so He gave me an oppertunity to prove it to Him, and myself. Later that night, I was making a delivery last night to some house, when a teenage girl answers the door -- I suspect a baby sitter, probably -- while talking on the phone. She seemed fairly distracted. She took the pizza, gave me a wad of cash, mouthed "Thank you", and shut the door. Fine. So I go back to the car to count the money(to count it in front of her would have seemed rude), and on a $27.66 tab, she gave me $53. Now, I'm all for bigger tips; I've gotten my share of 15 cent tips, and if I had left, no one would've been the wiser except me and my wallet, but c'mon, you know she didn't do that on purpose. So I went back to the door and knocked. When she answered, she thought she hadn't given me enough. I told her "No, you gave me a lot, actually." As it turns out, she DIDN'T mean to put that extra $20 in there. She took it back, leaving me with a still-good $5 tip, but what was better even than a healthy tip was her thanking me for being honest before I left. It just felt good.

And did it make a difference in my deciding to give the money back that she was cute? Nahh, 'course not.

Joseph Hichborn Personal driving record:
One (1) 1985 Toyota truck: Blown tire.
Cause of death: Didn't check the oil.
One (1) 1998 Honda Civic: Backed into someone in a parking lot, flat tire.
One (1) 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser: Boy, I just can't wait to find out.
Either my parents will never let me drive again, or they'll buy me a car of my OWN to destroy. Is it bad luck? Hard to say. The guy I backed into was parked badly... the truck wasn't mine, so it wasn't MY responsibility to check the oil, was it? *sigh*. Oh, well.

I'm listening to 80's music right now - yes, it's one of my music videos. Don't you all miss me so much?

I'm on my own for New Year's-- A-Jay and Daniel are going to a party, plus I'm working 'till 10, then at 1 on New Year's DAY. Plus that's the day my jerk manager gets back from vacation... THAT should be a fun 8 hour shift. Hope you all have a good time, though. Don't forget to kiss someone at midnight. It's a great tradition to uphold, I would guess.

Personal realization: Am I complaining more now than I do when I'm at Christendom? Oh, don't let it fool you, ladies and gents, I love break. I just feel more comfortable complaining to a computer screen than I do complaining to people.

Now then, I have to get in some reading and such before 4 AM, my unofficial bedtime.

Merry Christmas

2005-12-25T06:07:00.000-08:00

It's 9:00 AM on Christmas morning, why SHOULDN'T I be blogging? Seriously, though, my Mom somehow got roped into playing the organ for all the Christmas Masses (except the 7:30 AM but including the Midnight Mass), so we just kinda get to hang out 'till she gets back. Thought I'd look for some Christmas inspiration from my friend's blogs, and they didn't dissapoint! Thanks for helping me remember what it's all about, guys.

That's all I needed to say. May all your stockings be filled with the love of the Christ Child, assuming you didn't get that new radio controlled car for Christmas. No worries, I'll send you one.

The usual "I'm home." post

2005-12-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay, y'all, but I've been so caught up in all the nothing I've been doing, I just sorta lost track of time. Dare I begin?

Lessee... on the first night I got home, it felt so odd to be back in "Life A", as I affectionately call it. I consider Christendom and Home to be two completely seperate lives. After all, they're different kinds of relax, different kinds of stress, and pretty much the way I spend my day's is completely different(except for the 80's music videos... those stay with me.). Besides that, when I'm living one life, I often wonder if the other truly happened, of if it was all a dream. Then I wonder, which would I WANT to be the dream? I mean really, at home I have no homework, little-to-no responsibilities, no curfew, no rules, and... well, ok... there IS a lack of food. There's your similarity. But at Christendom, I have friends. I know it sounds cheesy, but I honestly have no friends here. Hell, I don't even have SIBLINGS here anymore(ruling out the sibling that exists in both lives). So honestly... I think I'll take the papers, the curfew, the stress, and the pissing-me-offedness of that place to be with the people there. Not that I'm choosing to be there FOREVER, but I think, for now, I'm entitled to miss Christendom. Hopefully, that's just the 2 AM talking and I'll wake up tomorrow saying "Bite me, college." Hmm.... Whatever.

Got my old job back!! Yes, delivering pizzas is great, but it's more the free pizza I'm interested in. Actually, if I told you pizza gets old after a while, would you hit me? NO, because you're not here! AH-HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Besides, I don't want to lose my awesome figure.

...

AH-HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Whooo, sorry, I'm back.

I'm a bad person. I haven't done Christmas shopping yet!!! I've gotten something for one person. Count 'em. One. I better get on that... maybe tomorrow. But, none of this is interesting!!

Oh, on one of my deliveries tonight, I had to take a pizza to what must be the only house with ice still in the driveway. On an incline. So I park, put on the emergency brake, and am just about to ring the doorbell when I see my car pulling back out of the driveway. No, I wasn't being carjacked(though that would've made a MUCH better story), my car simply decided to wait until I was far away before sliding down the ice. Fortunately, it stopped in the middle of the street, and there was no one coming. And the guy who ordered? Tipped me a whopping $1.90. Maybe it should've crashed... insurance can tip me...

Well, I should really get back to reading. Since none of the Christendomites are around to call me pagan, I'll tell you that it's a fantasy book. That's right - dragons, magic, and polytheism! I LOVE them!! I read them all the time! So THERE!

--Joe
P.S. - Why'd I just sign it like I was writing a letter?
P.P.S. - Why'd I write a "P.S." like I was writing a letter? Well, as long as I'm here, I'll mention that I've also spent my time playing computer games and watching TV. And I'm loving every minute of it.

Bite me, college.

Treason in the Commonwealth

2005-12-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hmm... It seems something must be done. Apperently, a piss-ant has come along who thinks he can fix everyone's problems. It isn't working. This will not go through, rest assured.

You see, I... *sigh*. Screw it, I don't feel like relating the story. I'll let you know when this all calms down.

--Hich

Oh, and enjoy finals, friends. See you on the other side of the new year.

Premature, I know, but...

2005-11-29T19:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I was only able to wait 10 days to post. Sure me.

Well, we're comin' down the Christendom home stretch... this is the final week of, well, HELL(for us sophomores, anyway). Yes, by the end of this week, all papers must be turned in. The last papers of this INSANE semester will be done, stamped, and postmarked, ladies and gentlemen. Why aren't I more exited? Well, I am PRETTY excited, but I can only use so much caps in one post. Otherwise, my fingers cramp up. Anyway, I only have one paper left, much to the envy of my 4-papers-left colleagues. I'm not feeling it, though... I have to write this paper on something I know NOTHING about. Fortunately, I'm getting all the research done right now(well, not as we speak. Well, we aren't really speaking... more like typing. Well, it's not really "we"... more like I...). The point is, I might not be dead by the end of the semester. I'm not sure how finals will go, but we'll jump that hurdle when we get to it. I'm even feeling healthier, but that's because I have awesome friends who come over and make me chicken noodle soup(you rule, Jenne!). Not chicken soup for the soul, mind you. Don't try that. It burns, as she demonstrated later. I think the only reason I'm not more excited to see this friday come is because I HAD a reason to look forward to it, but that has since dwindled. My next door neighbor, and friend since I was born, was going to visit this friday, and we were going to take her down to the river. Well, it turns out she's gonig to have to go do some gay band thing. Ok, fair enough, these things happen. But NOW it turns out that there isn't even a RIVER this week!! I mean geez, I'm all for the weekend, but what's the point?! How about you just assign finals tomorrow and get it over with?! *sigh* I'm ok.

I was going to post about something else that escapes my memory just now... what was it...? Oh heh, my music videos continue to spread. I just got back from the snack bar, where I decided to expose several of it's unwitting workers to the horrors of 80's bands. It's... just so horrible. Poor folks never saw it coming. Anyway, that makes me laugh.

I lost $20 in poker today. I suck. It wouldn't be so bad if I had gotten ANY good hands, but man. I was catching crap cards all night! It wasn't an entirely bad night for cards, though-- I did a magic trick for Jenne. And no one will ever know the secret... it's MAGIC, I tell you! MAAAGIC!!!!! I invoked the dark powers of the netherrealm. It was swell.

Have I written enough yet? Can I STOP this?! I just hate those little one-liner posts... they're such falsies. But I DO think this is sufficient. Fare thee well.

If only to please those who follow my life, I post to thee.

2005-11-19T13:54:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I didn't wait the required month before posting again, but apperently people READ this blog now, so I have to keep them happy. You see, this blog isn't for me, no no, that'd be absurd. It's for YOU greedy people. And so, without further adieau, or however that's spelled(I don't speak surrender), on with the show.

My birthday was freakin' SWEET. It started like any other birthday, and continued as such, but when I went back to my room at 5, a bunch of people jumped out at me and yelled at me. I know, it doesn't sound as pleasant as it actually was. No, but yeah, I had a surprise party! It was actually my first, if my memory serves me correctly. It was really, REALLY cool. Turns out I have friends! They went the whole nine yards, too. Pizza, soda, dessert, and cards. Oh, and of course, music(but no dancing... after all, it was a party for ME.). It was a lot of fun, getting to just hang out with friends. And I think I needed it, 'cause this week has been pretty crappy, which moves us to the complaint section of today's post.

So, yeah, I had a Way test on thursday, as well as a paper due(but that certainly wasn't turned in on thursday), a test friday, which I had to stay up late studying for since I was finishing up my paper on thursday night, but the test then got moved to monday so it can get in the way of my OTHER paper I have to write which is due on monday and which I haven't started yet!!! WEEEE!!!!!! Anywhoo, let's move on.

I didn't make it to the river last night, sadly. I went to a birthday party for Trish(what's with all the birthdays this week?!). Don't get me wrong, it was a lotta fun as well, what with the free dinner at Ruby Tuesdays and the hanging out drinking at her boyfriends. Still... no Lydia Pink, no John Tunakanaka, no beer... NO BEER! Made me cry. Oh, and at Ruby Tuesdays, I ordered the "Louisianna fried shrimp". Little did I realize, "Louisianna fried shrimp" translates to "Christendom friday platter". Gee, let's see, it was fried popcorn shrimp, fries, and cole slaw. It made me very, very depressed... here I had a chance to get a QUALITY meal on a FRIDAY, and I'm so attatched to Christendom that I subconciously order more Christendom food. *Sigh*. Oh, well.

I'm 19 now. Ah-HA HA HA HA!!!!

I'm so run down. I just feel DRAINED, mentally and physically. Papers do that to me, and I have to turn around and do another... Thanksgiving can't come soon enough. But then, I should work to get more money that week. I just want to sit around. If you can believe what I'm about to say, I actually can't wait for the week after Thanksgiving break. You see, my best (and only) friend from home is coming to Christendom to visit!! THAT'S going to be awesome. Don't get me wrong, I like the people here, but I've known this girl as long as I can remember, she's like the little sister I never had. She's coming on Dec. 2nd, and staying the weekend. It's gonig to be so much fun, we're taking her down to the river. Rock, rock on.

There's so much I haven't said, but I don't know what it is. Even if I did, I don't know if I'd know how to say it.

I was about to go, but I realized that I can't leave without giving this post a pick me up, so I'll go out on a joke of some sort. Uh... right. Um. So there are these two muffins cooking in the oven, right? And one turns to the other and says "Hot enough for ya?" The other turns around and says "HOLY S***, A TALKING MUFFIN!!!!"

A guy walks into a bar... WHAM!

Oh, I know. So I'm in English yesterday, right? And I was still kinda sick at this point, so I'm just spacing out, staring off into space, when I realize Dr. Rice is looking at me, so I answer him with an intellectual "What?". He asks if I brought my text today.
"No."
Did you READ your text?
"Uh... I didn't finish it"(Nor did I start it, but he didn't have to know that.)
So five minutes later, he's picking people out to dramatically read, and he's picking just about everybody in the room to read for some part (except Liz... sorry, Liz.), and when he gets to me, he just looks at me and says "Hichborn... oh, you're worthless." and moves on.
Oh. I'm worthless.
I told this story to Trish at her birthday party and she said "Oh, that's ok, you're not worthless in a bad way, you're worthless in a charming way!"
So I looked at her and said "Worthless in a charming way... like a hobo wearing a ripped and patched sport coat?"

...I'm charming? My complements always seem odd in some manner. But hell, I'll take it.

Dinner time, my subjects. Go, eat.

Girls are evil(you heard me) and other observations

2005-11-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

The guys are right. Life is much easier to deal with when you simply accept one, simple proposition: girls are evil. They are the exception to the doctrine that all of God's creation is good. I'm afraid that the objects of us guys' affection are simply concentrated badness walking aroun in skirts. Once this is realized, there is less stress involved in trying to understand the female mind. After all, I don't have to understand evil, for I try to seperate myself from evil. I'm a good person, you see. I suppose it is fortuate; I realized this just in time! Any later, and who knows what kind of evil I could have gotten myself involved with? Dodged a bullet there. And so, I re-begin my life as a, as Greg put it, "swingin' bachelor". Not LITERALLY swingin', of course, because the only way to swing dance is with evil.

There. I feel better now.

Well, here's my monthly update. Sorry to leave you with no updates (or I would be, if there were anyone that actually read this journal *wink wink*), but I've had more pressing matters to attend to around here. A lot of craziness has gone on here in the past few weeks... much more than I'd care to relate right now, but let's see what I CAN get to...
Oh, the evil of evils came to visit last week. That... sucked. I swear, it took her less than a minute to piss me off. ONE MINUTE. I don't know WHAT her ultimate goal is... possibly to be shot in the mouth... but at least she has, for the most part, given up on bothering ME. I mean, actively bothering me. Hoo-Ray.

Ladies and gentlemen, the river has returned. I don't know WHAT I did to cause God to smile upon me and shine His light forth, but the river has returned to us through december, and so my weekends have regained purpose. Again I say, and say it with me, Hoo-Ray.

Paul now lives in my room (in my bed, more accurately... I had a gigantic bed that was two beds smashed together, but now he's moved in and he TOOK one of 'em.). It's ok, he's pretty cool, but he freakin' falls asleep in the damn shower and it takes him forever... I keep missing my morning classes. That's not going to fly.

Halloween was OK until I lost the respect of all my friends by recommending 28 days later as a movie to watch. Silly me, but is it my fault they wanted to see a legitimately scary, well-directed and acted ZOMBIE MOVIE with a decent plot? Seriously, I don't know what to make of someone that would actually expect that. I thought it was decent, but it wasn't enough for them, so that's strike 2 for me if you include the fact that I liked Serenity. I've decided I'm never going to talk about movies to anyone again. Ever. Someone might waste their ever-so-precious time. I went to the halloween party as a ninja, so no one recognized me... that was pretty cool. Actually, an evil dressed up like a ninja too, and I wanted to ask her to dance but we had to leave early to watch "the worst movie ever made." I need to seriously re-examine my life when I make a decision like THAT.

Oh, I carved a pumpkin... I think I'll take some pics with my digital and post them here. Trust me, it wouldn't be the same to explain it.

I'm hungry. Bye.

Complaints of an ignored listener.

2005-10-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

So I've come to the conclusion that my life is made up entirely of listening to griping. Almost on a daily basis, I get to listen to Ben gripe about Ed and Dominick, Dominick gripe about Ben, Ed gripe about women, Andrea gripe about Dominick and Ed, and Ashley gripe about Dominick. Seriously, I have trouble turning around without running into one of my friends complaining about one of my OTHER friends. Eventually, they're ALL going to turn me against them ALL and I'll hate all my friends because of what they did to my other friends, who I now hate. Makes me wish I had thebackbone to formulate an opinion of my own... to be honest, I think they ALL blow EVERYTHING out of proportion. I wonder, do people complain about me? Do I ever say anything that could be complained about? Do I ever say anything at all? Maybe it's ok to go through life without pleasing everyone... the only way to do that is smile and nod, but eventually people lose respect for you when you do that. I thought I had it figured out, but I'm tired of being the whipping boy. Now if I only knew how to stop...

Wow, I whine a lot. At least this isn't wasting anyone's time... except my own, since I'm supposed to be writing a paper. Huzzah!

I was choked by a girl today for something I didn't do. What does that even mean?

I mean... her BUTT, it's just so... BIG.
Sorry, I listen to whack music.

At least our Toga Party should be fun... if only we were planning for it at ALL. Oh, well.

How do I win her respect? Or do I already have it? Hmm...

Shit. I miss the river.

Blogs, blog quizzes, and Philosophy.

2005-09-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

Wow... there's a blog subject that'll grab people's attention. Heh.

I'm just killing time before I go off to philosophy class in ten minutes. I like that class, it's fun... mostly for the people. Not entirely just for the people, obviously. If I judged classes based solely on the people in it, I'd still be in French, wouldn't I? But, as it is, I have dropped french. Dropped it like it's hot. Which is good, 'cause it means I was able to pick up Theology 201! Woo!! So now, by the end of next summer, I'll be completely caught up(I'm taking French over the summer). Ohh man, the girls were upset with me, though. Can you blame them? I'm so freakin' cool, after all. No, seriously though, apperently my teacher was really disappointed. Not because I was such a good student (No, no, heavens no) but I just tried to keep it lighthearted and fun. If I hadn't, I would've died in that class. They think I'm just nice? If I didn't act silly in that class, I would've had to fact the fact that I didn't understand what was going on, not to mention the stress involved with that knowledge... no, I had to laugh at myself, or I'd have broken down in insanity.

Tequila.

Beyond points such as those, what else? Tomorrow's friday!! WOOO!!! Ohh man, I could use a weekend right about now... I've been a day behind for most of the week. Or a day ahead. Anyway, I never know what day it is. Oh, after class today, I'm moving into guardian angel. OHH!! And I've decided that I'm gonna bring my snake, Snake, up there too!! That'll be SO COOL!! Which remind me, I better ask Greg about that... Crap, and I gotta talk to Wurtz. What's wrong with me? I'm sitting wasting time, talking about nothing, and even as I comment about it, I do nothing to stop myself. I'm just watching Freshmen walk by the door. Crap, there goes Greg. Gotta go.

Joe

Back in black... dress code.

2005-08-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

So here I am, back in that place. It's.... actually, it's not that different. I have a different view on my friendships these days. First off, the only time I talk to my friends on the phone is when I call them... I don't receive calls, except for Rob, which is cool, Rob's a good guy. But, I don't know, it's slightly discouraging. But it's still all good... I'm finding friends where I need them. Speaking of friends, I was thinking the other day (for one reason or another) about, if I were to be married today, who would be my best man? It came down to Dominick and Ben, obviously. And much as it pains me, as cool as Dominick is, I'd have to go with Ben. I mean, I hang out with Ben ALL the time. I think Dom would understand though.... and he'd still be a groomsman, as would Rob and Ski. BUT, more important than all of this, who'd be the bride?! Heh, oh well. I think I have time to work on that one.. and, for that matter, I will TAKE time to work on that one. I'm more nervous about writing a thesis in the future than I am about that. Iss all good.

Moving along, with A-Jay back and classes started, things have started to go in sinc here at Christendom. She brought me a friggin' BOOMERANG, which is just beyond awesome, though I can't seem to throw it properly. For that matter, however, NO one can seem to throw it properly, so there you are. I feel bad, too, because it's getting a little beaten.... I feel kinda obligated to keep it in good condition, as a souvenier. On the other hand, A-Jay seemed really excited to see it thrown and stuff. She's cool like that; she's just glad I'm enjoying it.

Let's see... other Christendom antics... oh, oddly enough, the person I find myself hanging out with the most thus far is Dominicks girlfriend. Fear not, it's not a behind-his-back thing, she's just cool. I actually feel a little sorry for her. Her entire class is in rome, so she's forced to turn to UNDERCLASSMEN for socialization. Poor soul. Speaking of, she wanted to try out the boomerang again, but she didn't see me when she left class just now. Anh, I'll catch her at dinner.

Chrstendom is just odd without Ski. Who'da thought he'd leave such a hole? But seriously, everyone is aware of the lack of his presence. You look over to the St. Joe's porch, expecting to see Ski through a cloud of smoke. There's even a new teacher that everyone has embraced as the "Ski teacher", because they look so freaking alike. It's wacky. But he's in our thoughts and prayers, and we all hope he can return next semester.

As for me, I've gotten back to roots. I'm sitting here in the computer lab, listening to Matt's music, and I'm enjoying every moment of it. It's to be short lived, though.... long class day tomorrow. How much longer can it be to the river? *sigh* I'll never make it three more days...